


The Chase Chronicles: Book One

by twinsarekeepers



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Genre: Canon, IT’S CANON GUYS, LITERALLY THE WHOLE FIRST BOOK
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:02:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 42,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23471413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twinsarekeepers/pseuds/twinsarekeepers
Summary: Annabeth Chase has only ever known Camp Half-Blood. That's not exactly true, but that's what it feels like. She wants a way out. And when Percy Jackson stumbles into her home, she knows that's it. But, with rumors of an impeding war between the gods brewing and her own destiny written, Annabeth is in for more than a simple adventure.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase & Chiron, Annabeth Chase & Percy Jackson & Grover Underwood, Luke Castellan & Annabeth Chase & Thalia Grace, Silena Beauregard & Annabeth Chase, THE BEGINNINGS OF Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Comments: 3
Kudos: 28





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, y'all! How's everyone doing? Hope y'all are coping with the quarantine. Since I've had a buttload of time on my hands, I've started writing again. AND I HAVE A BRAND NEW STORY TO GET Y'ALL THROUGH THIS!
> 
> First though, some rules. This story does not require you to have read the Percy Jackson series (though I highly recommend you do because it's phenomenal), so feel free to suggest this fic to friends who haven't. BUT if you wish to read Percy Jackson with fresh eyes, DON'T READ THIS! THERE ARE MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST BOOK IN HERE! However, if you have no care in the world for spoilers, go right ahead.
> 
> This story is ALL CANON. It's literally the entire first book. From a different character's perspective. So, there will be a hella amount of scenes from the book. Now, I didn't want it to get boring for those of you who have read the series, so there will be a lot more commentary from ~our main character~ in between dialogue.
> 
> Also, TRIGGER WARNING: this story will delve more into the emotional trauma that ~our main character~ definitely suffers from. It's not explicitly said or talked about, but it's prominent, especially in the later chapters.
> 
> DISCLAIMER: I am not Rick Riordan. I am just using his work for ~creativity~.
> 
> WITHOUT FURTHER ADO:
> 
> THE LIGHTENING THIEF: THROUGH THE EYES OF ANNABETH CHASE

TWELVE SUPERIOR BEINGS WITH UNIMAGINABLE AND EXPANSIVE POWER USE AN ELEVATOR  
I can categorically separate my life using one strategy. The before and the after.

For example, there is the before I knew about my mom (I don’t really remember that time of my life, but there are still fragments here and there) and the after I knew about my mom. There is the before I ran away from home and the after I ran away from home. There is the before Thalia got turned into a tree and the after Thalia got turned into a tree. There is the before I read a prophecy about the possible end of the world and the after I read a prophecy about the possible end of the world. 

You get the gist.

Similarly but not quite identical, there’s the before Percy Jackson and the after Percy Jackson. 

For those of you wondering who Percy Jackson is, he is not a simple person. Rather, he is an event. An event that devastated my life. Not in a bad way. No. But not in a good way either. The most important thing to know about Percy Jackson right now is that he changed my life. For better or for worse, that’s what we’ll find out. 

But, it really all started the day after the winter solstice.

Now, the day before the winter solstice, nothing happened. Well, all the demigods that were left at camp packed up and loaded into one van. But, other than that, it was just a long train ride from one island to another. My time was spent watching the trees whizz by and reading an interesting architecture book on Ancient Greek housing and infrastructure. 

The last field trip I’d gone on was two years before. It had been because Chiron had let me read the Great Prophecy. And I couldn’t sleep for two weeks. So, he issued a small trip to the Statue of Liberty. He thought it would make me feel better. It didn’t. I still had nightmares about it.

When we stopped at Penn Station, I finally got excited. It was designed by the architects McKim, Mead, and White. The building structure was inspired by the Baths of Caracalla in Rome. It also had a Parisian hint because of the Beaux-Arts style of architecture. It was opened to the public in 1910 but razed in 1963 to make Madison Square Garden. Penn Station was now completely underground. But still, in its time, it was pretty cool.

I told this all to Luke as we piled out of the train. He laughed whole heartedly and I smiled happily. I hadn’t heard him laugh like that for a while. It was nice to know I’d made it happen. 

“You seem to be enjoying yourself,” he noted, ruffling my hair. I scowled a little at the sisterly gesture.

After a short walk in New York City, we arrived at our intended destination. The Empire State Building. Seriously, my inner geek was freaking.

The Empire State Building was completed in 1931. It was the tallest building in the world from then to 1970. It was then surpassed by the World Trade Center. The architects who designed it, Shreve, Lamb, and Harmon, chose an Art Deco style. Its roof height was 250 feet and it was a 102-story skyscraper.

Man, I loved Manhattan.

“Alright,” Luke steered us into the lobby. “Let’s get going, guys.” Mr D appeared next to the group, frowning. 

“You brats never can get enough, can you?” He sighed. I rolled my eyes at him. But we all followed him past the security guard, who glanced at Mr D and looked back at whatever he was reading. Mr D led us to the elevators, not bothering with the metal detectors. He inserted the key card into the slot and we began our assent to Mount Olympus.

It was awkward. With the jazzy music playing and Mr D crammed into the elevator with us. But we managed to make it up. With a cheerful ding, the doors opened.

And I almost died. 

So far, I had been pretty amazed by the architecture of several of the world’s landmarks. This, though, this was just unreal.

Grecian style buildings zigzagged over the mountain peak. Roads wizzed between them. White clouds surrounded the city, the gold rooftops shining against them. Step stones made of marble rested on the pillows of white cotton, leading up to the city. When we reached the gleaming gates of the city, I could see the intricate details of life within it. Minor gods chatted with each other on porches, ignoring the group of awestruck children gaping at them. Satyrs happily trotted around, cheering greetings joyfully at us as they sped after each other. Dryads and naiads stared intently at us. One naiad, a girl my age with waist length, brown green hair and a grey tint to her skin, waved and winked at me. She turned back to her friends and giggled with them.

I blushed deeply and looked down. It wasn’t unusual for naiads or dryads to flirt with their own gender. It happened all the time at camp. Nobody minded it. Some campers even encouraged it and flirted back. I’d seen Silena Beauregard giggling with a few dryads over the summer. But, I’d never gotten any attention like that before. From boys or girls. I was younger than most of the campers and preferred books anyway. So, having a naiad find me interesting was kind of a difficult thing to process. 

“Smile and wave back.” 

My head whipped up and I found myself next to Silena. She was smiling encouragingly at me. I bit my lip and turned back to where the naiads were sitting. Tentatively, I raised a hand and waved. 

Silena laughed harmoniously. “Loosen up, Annabeth. You’ve got an overload of confidence. I’ve seen you yell at counselors in college after they cost you that capture-the-flag game.”

“Yeah,” I glanced away, “but that’s different.”

She smiled kindly down at me. “Yeah, I guess it is.”

“Anyway,” I continued, “I’m never going need the skill of flirting. What I would I even use it for?”

“Oh, so much!” Silena exclaimed, shrugging her shoulder. “Flirting is actually very strategic. You gotta know what body language to use, what words to say, what facial expressions to pull at the right time.”

“But,” I sighed, “it’s not gonna help me defeat a monster or something.”

Aphrodite’s kids never made sense to me. Most of them liked to accessorize, fix their make up, wear fashionable clothes, and pair campers up with each other. There was nothing inherently wrong with that, it just wasn’t my style. Sure, dressing up and stuff like that was fun sometimes, but I couldn’t do it all the time. It would just get too boring for me. Like with anything I did, it had to be in moderation or I’d end up hating it. 

But Aphrodite kids were always entertained with that stuff. And a lot of them were really mean as well. Some of them, like Silena, had a more friendly vibe. But all of them were convinced that love was the answer to everything when all I wanted to do was climb the lava wall and read my architecture books. Maybe lead a quest. How was love an answer to that? 

Regardless, Silena had always been nice to me. She’d come to camp two years ago and taken one look at my unruly, terribly handled curls and decided she would take me under her wing. She made sure I knew how to wash it properly and showed me how to braid it so that it wouldn’t get in my face when I sparred. She was the one who pierced my ears and painted my nails. She sat me down to explain what a period was and why it wasn’t so scary. She was the one I went to when I wanted a hug or something motherly. 

“Well, not all monsters wear the same skin,” she broke in between my thoughts. “But, you’re still young. You’ve got time.”

“I don’t think I was made for romance,” I breathed, my thoughts drifting to Luke. “Whatever age.”

“It’s perfectly fine if you don’t feel anything romantic towards anyone,” Silena smiled, as if she knew that wasn’t true. “But, it’s also perfectly fine if you do.”

“What do I do with those feelings though? They just feel like a distraction,” I remembered all the times I’d lost to Luke because of the butterflies fluttering around in my stomach.

“You don’t have to do anything with them,” she answered patiently. “If you’re not ready for a relationship.”

“Whoa,” I reeled back. “Who said anything about a relationship?”

“Annabeth,” Silena stopped and turned to fully look at me, “don’t worry about it. You’re twelve. It’s normal to have questions about your feelings. And some kids are ready for relationships at your age, maybe not mature ones, but still relationships. Some are not. It’s okay. Just, never try to bottle away any feeling. Feel everything. Okay?” She didn’t say it philosophically or with any intended deep message. She said it casually, with a shrug and pat on my back. She said it so nonchalantly that I just had to heed her advice.

I nodded numbly and she smiled radiantly at me before treading ahead, catching up with Luke. I stood still for a second, thinking, before surveying the dipping sun behind me and breaking into a sprint after my friends. 

• • •

It was dusk by the time we made it to the house we’d be staying in. The structure was Hellenic, almost like a smaller scale Supreme Court. 

Luke stepped up to the front door, which was painted red, and pushed it open. He gestured for us to follow and the rest of us rushed inside with excitement. Luke was hastily yelling instructions to us as we ran around the house, looking for a good room to put our stuff in. I knew there was probably enough room for twice as many people, but still. How many times was I going to explore a house on Mount Olympus?

“Just be careful!” was Luke’s final statement before he was cut off by Travis and Connor Stoll plowing over him.

I laughed. 

After making a round around the house and scouting out a nice bedroom, I settled onto the balcony of my room. It was small, only big enough for one, but it did the job.  
I leaned heavily against the iron railing and let my gaze wander to the sky.

It was much clearer up here. The air was fresher. It felt more real. From the ground, I wouldn’t have been able to see even one star. Up on Olympus, the dark purple night glittered with millions of them. I could make out constellations that hadn’t been spotted for a millennia. The leg of the Milky Way ripped across the sky. It was all so beautiful that I almost forgot to breathe. 

I looked down again and saw that Olympus had lit up. The buildings glowed with golden light and street lamps were flickering magically, illuminating everything for the night life. On one road, I spotted a dryad and a satyr taking a moonlit stroll, holding hands and occasionally stopping to twirl each other around. On another, I saw a group of teenagers, minor gods, tossing around a ball. It surprised me because it seemed like such a human thing to do. 

I enjoyed the cool breeze against my face, enamored by how it wasn’t chilling and biting like any other winter night, but still refreshing and serene. Breathing in, I closed my eyes and smiled. This was Olympus. I was on Mount Olympus. 

Then, I remembered that in a few hours, the winter solstice would begin.

That’s when the Olympians started to trickle in. 

Mr D was already in the throne room since he had come with us. 

Artemis came first, gleaming silver in the moonlight. Every road she took to the throne room lit up like a 3-D GPS. Then Demeter walked barefoot through town, sprouting bright flowers despite the season. Hermes showed up, talking on his phone rapidly. Hephaestus came next; I could hear him grumbling and cursing throughout his whole trip to the throne room. Ares and Aphrodite walked in together, that kind of made me gag. Then Apollo sauntered through, bobbing his head to the music he was listening to and singing along as well. Elvis Presley’s Jailhouse Rock was the song. I could hear his clear voice ripple in the night air.

There was an interlude for about half an hour. By this time, many of the inhabitants of Olympus had shacked up in their homes. Nobody wanted to risk disturbing the Olympians. They were known for their short tempers and impatience. I wouldn’t put it past them to smite the minor gods that they made immortal.

When I looked down again, my heart flopped.

It was my mom. 

Athena. I knew because she had the same blonde hair my siblings and I had. From where I was standing, I could see her billowing white dress. She looked like a princess. Except she didn’t smile like most. Her lips were set in a hard line, like this was the last place she wanted to be. It was the expression I used when I wanted to let a monster know that it was their last chance to scram before I opened a can of damnation on them. It was my battle face. Also, seemingly, hers. I smiled a little at that.

Athena marched confidently through the streets. She didn’t flatter until she reached our house.

My heart rate picked up as she turned to look up. 

Her gray eyes met mine. 

I gripped the railing tighter, waiting for a reaction. Her face was stoic, unaffected by emotion. My gaze held hers, undeterred by the compelling impulse to drop it to the floor.

It felt like an eternity before her lips grew into a smirk. It wasn’t malicious. More proud. As if I’d just passed a test. A very important test. You know, that if-you-failed-the-world-would-explode test. 

It unnerved me.

Before I had time to react, she had already continued her walk to the throne room. 

I breathed out.

After that, Hera swept through. She had an aura that a rich lady in 1912 would have. She kinda looked the part as well. 

Then Poseidon, who winked at me as he passed, smiling like a goof. Like he knew something I didn’t. I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes.

Next was Hades; my stomach recoiled when he came to an abrupt stop in front of our house, sniffed haughtily, shot a glare at it and then was off on his way. 

And Zeus came last. He waltzed in, oozing with self-importance and arrogance. 

I waited until he had walked into the throne room before I took one last look at the marvelous sky above and headed in.

Luke would be calling us soon. We’d all head to the throne room.

And I’d get to meet my mom.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annabeth Chase has only ever known Camp Half-Blood. That’s not exactly true, but that’s what it feels like. She wants a way out. And when Percy Jackson stumbles into her home, she knows that’s it. But, with rumors of an impeding war between the gods brewing and her own destiny written, Annabeth is in for more than a simple adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, y'all! I'M BACK WITH ANOTHER UPDATE! Not much to say about anything really, so let's just jump in.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own the PJO series. I am a mere fan.

I TALK TO A TREE

It was the day we'd gotten back from Olympus, the day after the winter solstice, when Chiron told us where he was going. We were all sitting in the dining pavilion, trying to get used to being home when he caught our attention.

Mr D stood up, clearing his throat as he always did before addressing us. "Hello," he dazedly looked at us and I rolled my eyes. "I was hoping all of you would've chosen to leave this gods-forsaken place but I guess not. Anyway, because winter break is now over, classes will begin on Monday in the amphitheater for those of you who wish to attend. Capture-the-flag will continue on Fridays. Cabin six currently holds the laurels." I smirked at Clarisse as my siblings clapped and cheered. "Oh, and Chiron will be leaving tomorrow for the city. Hooray. Now I'll be all alone with you brats to drive me crazy."

A burst of talking sprung up at the mention of Chiron leaving. He had never left the camp before. At least, since I got here. My gaze fell on my mentor confusedly.

"Children," he boomed over us. "Yes, I will be leaving tomorrow. There is business in the city which I will need to attend to. I will most likely be gone until the summer session." The talking started up again. Why did he need to be gone so long? What was this 'business'? "Now," he raised his voice, "I know you have many questions," he looked directly at me as he said that, "but there is no need to worry. Mr D will look after the camp diligently and I will check in occasionally. Now, go and enjoy the camp-fire."

For the other campers, that was the end of it. Chiron wasn't one to blatantly be mysterious, so if he was keeping certain things to himself, it was for our safety.

But I was not having it.

So, while the others went about the regular festivities, I snuck away to the Big House, where I knew he would be.

"Chiron!" I slammed open the door of his apartment without knocking. He seemed to know that I would because he continued calmly packing a suitcase.

"Yes, Annabeth?" he responded to me innocently.

"Are you kidding me?" I stated, crossing my arms. "Why didn't you tell me you were leaving?"

"You found out with the rest of the campers, as you should have."

"Bullshit!" I exclaimed. Chiron opened his mouth to chastise me but I plowed on. "Grover told me before he left yesterday that he thinks the kid he's protecting is different from the others. And now, you're leaving. You're going to help Grover, right? With that kid whose probably one of the Big Three's? Which means he's the Prophecy Child. And we both know, I have a lot to do with that kid."

"I should never have let you read that prophecy," Chiron sighed, hanging his head.

"Well you did," I kept pushing. "So deal with it. And tell me if I'm right."

Chiron looked up at me and shook his head. "Annabeth, I'm sorry. But I can't tell you anything."

I held his gaze for long second before scoffing in disbelief and turning to take my leave.

"Annabeth," his voice commanded my attention, "I have seen many heroes like you in my years. Young, smart, strong. They thought themselves immovable, indestructible." He cantered over to where she stood. "Learn from their mistakes. Be better."

I stared up into his kind, brown eyes for a moment that stretched on for what felt like hours before turning my back to him and walking away.

My mind wandered as I did through the strawberry fields. I knew I had no authority to demand any information from a centuries old centaur who'd seen everything the world had to offer and more. But, I didn't particularly care. Chiron owed it to me to tell the truth. He was the one who insisted on letting me in on all the gods' secrets. On my own destiny. He'd given me the prophecy to read. He'd told me almost everything he could.

And he'd raised me.

He took me strawberry picking in this very field for hours on end when I was younger. He had let me sleep in the Big House when I got scared of being alone in cabin six. He would pick me up and take me riding across the beach. He smiled proudly the first time I successfully climbed the lava wall. He translated famous books into Ancient Greek so that I could read them. When Luke got too busy with camp duties, Chiron talked to me. He was my first true friend at Camp Half-Blood. And he was more of a father than my own.

If I was being honest with myself, I wasn't upset that he hadn't told me why he was leaving. I was upset because I thought he'd tell me he was leaving before everyone else. I thought I was special to him. I thought he would tell me because he wanted to and not out of obligation. I thought he felt I was a daughter to him.

I blinked away the tears welling up behind my eyes and found myself at the base of Half-Blood Hill. Checking around me, I saw no one. Camp-fire was still going strong by the noise level coming from the amphitheater. There was time before curfew. And if no one was around, they wouldn't be able to stop me.

I pulled out my invisibility cap. I hadn't used it since the day it had shown up on my trunk next to my bed. What better reason than to break the rules? I whipped it on my head and began my ascent towards Thalia's tree.

Technically, I was still within Camp boundaries, so I wasn't in any danger. But, the rule was that no camper was allowed in the woods or up the hill at night because it was so dark that you could get lost or accidentally wander out of bounds. I'd been up this hill every day since I was seven though. I knew where to go. Once I'd climbed to the top, I made my way to her, placing a hand on the bark of her tree.

"Hi," I whispered, sitting down and leaning against her trunk. "Sorry, I haven't been here for a few days." I paused. "I was on Olympus. I wish you could've see it. It was beautiful. Everything we talked about. It was all there. Right in front of us. Everything we imagined and more." I smiled at the memory, closing my eyes to picture it. "I know you wouldn't have liked it. It was too pristine and perfect. And it was at the top of the Empire State. The sheer height of the place would've turned you off." I laughed at that. Thalia, Daughter of Zeus, afraid of heights. "Oh, but you would've gone up with me anyway. And we'd stay up all night long. We'd talk and laugh. And you'd forget about the height. We'd have fun. You'd show me more constellations, even though I know them all now." My laughter died down when I remembered no one else was there to join in. "I'd have you back." A sudden chill swept past me, nipping at my cheeks, whipping my hair into my face.

That was my cue to leave.

Slowly, I got up. "I miss you," I murmured, resting my forehead against her before starting the slow, sad trek back to Camp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AUTHOR'S NOTE: Knocked another chapter out! Not the longest, but a good way to introduce more of Annabeth's personality. So, I'm happy with it.
> 
> Next chapter is when things really start picking up (hint: PERCY IS HERE AND WREAKING HAVOC ON OUR FAVORITE GIRL'S LIFE BUT IN THE BEST WAYS). So stay tuned.
> 
> Until next Friday! :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annabeth Chase has only ever known Camp Half-Blood. That’s not exactly true, but that’s what it feels like. She wants a way out. And when Percy Jackson stumbles into her home, she knows that’s it. But, with rumors of an impeding war between the gods brewing and her own destiny written, Annabeth is in for more than a simple adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, lovelies! Hope everything's good with y'all. Everyone's safe. Happy. Healthy. Okay, getting right into it.
> 
> Disclaimer: This chapter is when The Lightening Thief starts overlapping. Meaning there is going to be a lot more scenes from the book starting now. BASICALLY the whole book. This, however, does not mean that I am Rick.

SOME KID INTERRUPTS MY IMPORTANT CONVERSATION  
It was months later that I actually began to get answers to my questions. I was talking to Chiron after camp fire again. We were in his apartment as he was unpacking his suitcase. It was so good to see him after such a long time, but I also needed answers. Ever since that field trip, things had gotten a bit ... weird. 

The weather was always an indication of what was happening with the gods. And, right now, the sky and the sea were churning. Poseidon and Zeus were having a quarrel. 

Then there were the satyrs, who were always talking with the dryads. And the dryads seemed to know a little bit more than everyone else. But they weren’t as loose lipped as the satyrs. So, I just had to find the right time to spy on the satyrs, who would egg their girlfriends into giving them something. 

From what I heard, something was stolen. And it wasn’t making any of the gods happy. Especially Zeus and Poseidon. 

“Annabeth,” Chiron said calmly, arms crossed, “I have given everything I could to you. It is not your burden to carry.” I rolled my eyes.

“I know something’s wrong,” I insisted. “The weather’s weird and the satyrs are talking to the dryads about something being stolen. Obviously, it’s got someone upstairs pretty mad. What is it?” Chiron didn’t answer but I didn’t care. I was on a roll. “You told me that I had to wait for my time, until some hero came along who’s fate was intertwined with mine. Then you let me read that gods-forsaken prophecy! Obviously, it’s connected! Tell me if this is the start!” I glared at him, which I never did. We stared each other down. He made no indication of answering any of my prying questions. 

Then, we heard the sounds of a fight. It sounded like it was coming from outside of camp. 

Chiron and I raced out of the room. Him cantering ahead of me and I bounding as fast as I could. We burst through the front door and onto the porch as a boy, around my age, with pitch black hair that blended in with the sky, came trudging up the steps. He was dragging an unconscious satyr. With a start, I recognized the satyr as Grover. 

I went to help him. He collapsed at my feet, next to Grover. He was crying and whimpering. His eyes were wild. I bent down; my heart going out to him.

“Mom,” he was saying. “Mom! Mom!”

I looked at Chiron. He was grimly staring at the boy. His eyes sad and far away. I realized this must have been the kid who he was looking after with Grover. 

Then, a more harrowing thought struck me. No other half-bloods had been brought to camp since the winter solstice. Suddenly, one appears in the middle of night, carrying a satyr, a few weeks away from the summer solstice, the one other day all the Olympians gathered. Not to mention, this was the kid Chiron specifically went to oversee with Grover. 

“He’s the one.” I stated, my hair curtaining my face as I looked down at his dimming eyes. “He must be,” I murmured that.

“Silence, Annabeth,” Chiron said, watching the boy’s eyes staring at me. “He’s still conscious. Bring him inside.”

As I looked down at him, his eyes grew heavy and slid shut. His lips stopped quivering.

With care, I grabbed his hands and pulled him up. His head lolled to the side as I led his arm around my shoulder and staggered into the Big House. I gripped his waist so that he wouldn’t fall down the stairs and half-carried, half-dragged the unconscious boy into the guest room. 

“Mr D!” I yelled down the stairs. The boy’s shirt stank of dirt, barnyard animals, and perspiration. His forehead was beaded with sweat; some of it roiled down his temple. I didn’t want to lay him on the bed while he was in this state.

Mr D appeared next to my shoulder. “What do you want now?” he said with boredom. 

I was red in the face and out of breath from supporting this boy’s weight. He fell toward me and I wrapped my arms around his waist to keep him upright. 

“Clean him up!” I demanded, forgetting that I was speaking to a god.

Mr D looked at me in shock. Purple fire blazed in his eyes. I was pretty sure that my time was up and then he sighed heavily.

“Fine,” he said, “but only because I know you’ll keep asking until I do.” He snapped his fingers.

Instantly, the boy’s face cleared and he was now wearing what looked like comfortable pajamas and a white t-shirt. I looked back to thank Mr D but found him gone.

With a groan, I laid the boy down and tucked him into the bed. Mr D seemed unable to tame his messy hair. It stuck up in all directions, ruffled and tangled. I had an urge to grab a comb and brush it. Instead, I tromped down the stairs and shuffled to the kitchen. The fridge was stocked with ambrosia pudding. I grabbed one, along with a spoon, and walked back up the stairs.

When I reached the guest room, I sat the boy up. Opening the pudding, I spoon fed it to him, smirking when it dribbled down his chin. I wiped the pudding with the back of the spoon, looked up, and almost jumped up in shock. 

His eyes were open, staring at me dazedly. I steadied myself and breathed deeply. Realizing that this was probably the only time I’d get any answers from anyone, I steeled myself. My best bet was asking this boy. 

“What will happen at the summer solstice?” My voice was low so that nobody would hear.

“What?” he croaked, looking at me with confusion.

I looked over my shoulder, making sure no one was there, then tried again. “What’s going on? What was stolen?” When he didn’t answer, I persisted. “We only have a few weeks!”

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, “I don’t ...” He appeared too weak to complete his sentence. My face fell.

Suddenly, there was knock at the door. I forced the spoon into his mouth as Chiron stepped in.

When I looked back at the boy, he was already asleep. 

• • •

After breakfast, I made a beeline for the Big House. I hoped Chiron and Mr D were still at the pavilion so that I could sneak into Percy’s (Chiron had told me his name the night before) room and maybe ask a few more questions. No such luck.

Chiron was sitting in his wheelchair with Mr D across from him. They were playing pinochle, as they always did. Chiron looked at me pointedly.

“Don’t bother the poor boy,” he chastised, still looking at his cards. “He knows nothing.” I leaned against the porch railing. 

“But what do you think his deal is?” I asked. “You can’t possibly think it’s a coincidence that he showed up here weeks before the summer solstice. Plus, I feel weird around him. Like I felt with Thalia. He has power, Chiron. Who is he?”

Chiron put his cards down and looked at me. “He is Percy Jackson. 12-years-old. He is a half-blood who has been through a tremendous ordeal and has just lost his mother. Please, Annabeth. Don’t overwhelm him.”

I crossed my arms. Sometimes, very rarely, someone would best me. This was one of those moments. 

“Well if you ask me,” Mr D interjected, “he’s a brat. Like all the rest of you.”

I rolled my eyes but didn’t say anything. I was sure that the only reason why Mr D hadn’t blown me to bits last night was because he was too tired to deal with anymore punishments from Zeus. If I was to anger him again, I didn’t think I’d be so lucky.

Just then, two people came around the house. Well, one person and a goat boy. Grover was muttering to Percy. He pointed to Mr D and then looked at me. 

“And you already know Chiron...” was all I heard Grover say.

“Mr Brunner!” Percy cried. 

I raised an eyebrow and looked at Chiron. The name suited him. 

Chiron turned and smiled at the raven haired boy. His eyes had a twinkle in them that they sometimes got when he had a surprise for the camp. 

“Ah, good, Percy,” he said warmly. “Now we have four for pinochle.” Chiron gestured to a seat next to Mr D.

“Oh, I suppose I must say it,” Mr D yawned. “Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. There. Now, don’t except me to be glad to see you.” He fixed Percy with a glare. Percy fidgeted awkwardly as he sat down.

“Um, thanks,” Percy said uncertainly. He scooted farther away from Mr D. Smart move, kid. 

“Annabeth?” Chiron called to me. I perked up and moved forward. “This young lady nursed you back to health, Percy.” 

Percy glanced up at me before looking away, red dusting his cheeks.

“Annabeth, my dear, why don’t you go check on Percy’s bunk? We’ll be putting him in cabin eleven for now,” Chiron continued.

I already knew that. I also knew that he was trying to get me away from Percy so that I wouldn’t ask him any questions. 

“Sure, Chiron,” I said instead, lacing my voice with fake cheerfulness. 

My eyes went over to Percy. He was scrawny. Maybe because he was so pale last night from the almost dying, his natural skin color was darker than what I’d thought, suggesting South American descent I guessed. His hair was still as messy as it was last I saw it. His eyes were more vibrant in the day. An unnatural green that reminded me of the sea. And even though he was looking pretty uncomfortable at the moment, his face was definitely one that a teacher would label as TROUBLE MAKER. 

I glanced at his hand. A minotaur horn was clenched in his fist. It was surprising that this skinny, 12-year-old kid could defeat a monster like the Minotaur. But I kept my face emotionless. I don’t want him to get a big head before he was even given the orientation tour. 

“You drool in your sleep,” I told him. Turning my back on Percy’s surprised face and smirking, I ran down the porch steps and towards the cabins. My first stop was cabin six. I knew Chiron and Percy would be a while so I grabbed an architecture book. Then, I headed over to cabin eleven. 

Cabin eleven was the Hermes cabin. And since Hermes wasn’t too picky about who he hung around with, the undetermined kids were all stuffed in there, along with all of the kids Hermes claimed. It was messy, to say the least. Boys and girls of all ages were packed in there along with their belongings. Bed rolls were lain on the floor while bunks were pushed to the walls. Someone was always yelling. 

“Annabeth!” Luke yelled over the noise. Case and point. He walked over to me, looking out for items on the floor that he could trip over.

“Hi,” I said, feeling my face heat up. 

“What’re you doing here?” Luke questioned, although I suspected he knew. News of Percy’s arrival spread fast. He’d made quite a scene the night before and woken up a few campers. 

“New kid on the block,” I said, shrugging.

Luke nodded in understanding and went to find a bed roll.

I waited patiently and waved hi to the kids I knew.

Luke came back with a dark blue sleeping bag. He laid it on the floor next to the door.

“When should we be expecting this new kid?” Luke asked. 

“In a while,” I answered, “Chiron’s showing him around. This one seems like the special kind.”

“Don’t get your hopes up, Anna-banana.” 

I scowled at the old nickname. “I’m not saying that.” I said defiantly, though it was the only thing on my mind. “Just thinking out loud.” 

Luke nodded uneasily and I trudged out of the cabin. My book in my hand, I plopped down onto the ground and leaned against the cabin. I opened it to the page I’d stopped on and let my thoughts slip away with each word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! Percy's here. And yes, he is Latino. That is my personal headcanon and since Rick never specified that Percy is white, it's perfectly fine if I consider it canon. So... no comments about his race being "incorrect" because I'm not changing it or apologizing.
> 
> Other than that, feel free to comment on anything about this chapter. I love to hear from you guys. Any criticism is completely welcome (just no hate... I have feelings, don't stomp all over them). And if you like this story, please comment that you do. It really helps with inspiring me to go on writing.
> 
> Okay, stay safe out there, guys. See you next Friday. :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annabeth Chase has only ever known Camp Half-Blood. That’s not exactly true, but that’s what it feels like. She wants a way out. And when Percy Jackson stumbles into her home, she knows that’s it. But, with rumors of an impeding war between the gods brewing and her own destiny written, Annabeth is in for more than a simple adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, y'all, what's up? How's it hanging? Everything good? So, nothing much to say beforehand. Just enjoy, I guess.
> 
> Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended because I AM NOT UNCLE RICK.

I GET A CRUMMY SHOWER

I looked Percy over critically as he and Chiron approached me. If possible, he looked even more disoriented than he had. His shoulders were slumped sadly and a deep frown adorned his lips. He was walking with his heels dragging.

It seemed as if he was taking everything by stride. Not like some other kids who would throw fitful tantrums before finally accepting the truth. 

“Annabeth,” Chiron said, “I have masters’ archery class at noon. Would you take Percy from here?”

I nodded once, like a soldier to their commander. “Yes, sir.”

“Cabin eleven,” Chiron turned to Percy, gesturing toward the doorway. “Make yourself at home.”

I led Percy inside the doorway. As usual, everyone stood and bowed to Chiron respectfully. 

“Well, then,” Chiron said. “Good luck, Percy. I’ll see you at dinner.” He galloped away.

I waited for Percy to make a move inside. When he stood there awkwardly, I prompted him. “Well? Go on.” 

Percy put a foot out to step in and tripped. 

I held back a smile. It was kind of adorable how his face turned tomato red when some of the other kids snickered. 

“Percy Jackson,” I announced loudly, “meet cabin eleven.”

“Regular,” a kid said, “or undetermined?”

“Undetermined,” I answered.

Everybody groaned.

Luke came forward. “Now, now, campers. That’s what we’re here for. Welcome, Percy. You can have that spot on the floor, right over there.” Luke pointed to the sleeping bag he’d rolled out.

“This is Luke,” I said, feeling my face grow hot. When I looked at Percy, he was staring at me intently, as if he knew exactly what I was feeling. Immediately, I glared at him. “He’s your counselor for now.”

“For now?” Percy asked.

“You're undetermined,” Luke explained patiently. “They don't know what cabin to put you in, so you're here. Cabin eleven takes all newcomers, all visitors. Naturally, we would. Hermes, our patron, is the god of travelers.”

Percy looked at his spot forlornly. “How long will I be here?” 

“Good question,” Luke said, “Until you’re determined.”

“How long will that take?” Percy questioned. 

The campers laughed. Part of me wanted to join in as well. Another, more sympathetic part of me, wanted to hug this poor boy.

“Come on,” I groaned out instead, “I’ll show you the volleyball court.”

“I’ve already seen it.” Percy said stubbornly.

“Come on,” I grumbled and grabbed his wrist, dragging him outside, away from the laughing campers. “Jackson, you have to do better than that.” 

“What?”

I rolled my eyes and mumbled under my breathe, “I can’t believe I thought you were the one.” I hadn’t meant for him to hear it, but apparently where Percy lacked in brains, he made up for in super hearing.

“What’s your problem?” He was getting angry. “All I know is, I kill some bull guy—“

“Don’t talk like that!” I chastised. “You know how many kids at this camp wish they’d had your chance?”

“To get killed?”

“To fight the Minotaur! What do you think we train for?”

Percy shook his head. “Look, if the thing I fought really was the Minotaur, the same one in the stories ...”

“Yes.”

“Then there's only one.”

“Yes.”

“And he died, like, a gajillion years ago, right? Theseus killed him in the labyrinth. So ...”

“Monsters don't die, Percy. They can be killed. But they don't die.”

“Oh, thanks. That clears it up.”

“They don't have souls, like you and me. You can dispel them for a while, maybe even for a whole lifetime if you're lucky. But they are primal forces. Chiron calls them archetypes. Eventually, they re-form.”

Percy paused for a second, thinking. “You mean if I killed one, accidentally, with a sword—“

“The Fur ... I mean, your math teacher. That's right. She's still out there. You just made her very, very mad.” 

“How did you know about Mrs. Dodds?”

“You talk in your sleep.” I concealed a small smile at his disturbed face.

“You almost called her something. A Fury? They're Hades' torturers, right?” 

I glanced nervously at the ground, an irrational fear that the ground would open up and they’d pop out gripped me. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to face the Furies again, even after all this time. “You shouldn't call them by name, even here. We call them the Kindly Ones, if we have to speak of them at all.” 

“Look, is there anything we can say without it thundering?" Percy whined. “Why do I have to stay in cabin eleven, anyway? Why is everybody so crowded together? There are plenty of empty bunks right over there.”

He pointed to the Zeus, Hera and Poseidon cabins. I paled. “You don't just choose a cabin, Percy. It depends on who your parents are. Or ... your parent.”

I stared at him, hoping that he would get it.

He didn’t.

“My mom is Sally Jackson,” he said. “She works at the candy store in Grand Central Station. At least, she used to.” 

I felt bad. Hounding this kid about fitting in when his mom had just died wasn’t my greatest moment. “I'm sorry about your mom, Percy. But that's not what I mean. I'm talking about your other parent. Your dad.”

Percy’s expression turned sour. “He’s dead. I never knew him.”

I sighed, remembering all the other kids I’d had to explain this to. “Your father’s not dead, Percy.”

“How can you say that? You know him?” an excited spark flickered in his eyes. 

“No, of course not,” I said glumly. 

Percy’s eye brows cinched together. “Then how can you say—“

“Because I know you. You wouldn’t be here if you weren’t one of us.”

“You don’t know anything about me,” he defensively shot back.

“No?” I raised an eyebrow. “I bet you moved around from school to school. I bet you were kicked out of a lot of them.”

“How—“

“Diagnosed with dyslexia. Probably ADHD, too.”

Red tinged his cheeks. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Taken together, it's almost a sure sign. The letters float off the page when you read, right? That's because your mind is hardwired for ancient Greek. And the ADHD—you're impulsive, can't sit still in the classroom. That's your battle-field reflexes. In a real fight, they'd keep you alive. As for the attention problems, that's because you see too much, Percy, not too little. Your senses are better than a regular mortal's. Of course the teachers want you medicated. Most of them are monsters. They don't want you seeing them for what they are.”

“You sound like,” Percy started, “you went through the same thing?”

“Most of the kids here did. If you weren't like us, you couldn't have survived the Minotaur, much less the ambrosia and nectar.”

“Ambrosia and nectar.”

“The food and drink we were giving you to make you better. That stuff would've killed a normal kid. It would've turned your blood to fire and your bones to sand and you'd be dead. Face it. You're a half-blood.”

Percy looked ashen, as if he had so many questions to ask but knew all the answers as he thought of them.

Then, Clarisse showed up with her goons, “Well! A newbie!”

“Clarisse,” I sighed, rubbing my temples. “Why don’t you go polish your spear or something?”

“Sure, Miss Princess,” she snarled. Anger flared in me. “So I can run you through with it Friday night.”

“Erre es korakas!” I glared at her. If Chiron heard me cursing like this, I’d be scooping Pegasus poop for the next twenty years. “You don’t stand a chance.”

“We’ll pulverize you,” she said menacingly but her eye twitched and I knew I’d won. Clarisse turned to Percy. “Who’s this little runt?”

“Percy Jackson, meet Clarisse,” I said, letting distaste fill my voice, “Daughter of Ares.”

Percy blinked, comprehending my words. “Like ... the war god?”

Before I could answer, Clarisse sneered. “You gotta problem with that?”

“No,” Percy recovered his wits quickly. “It explains the bad smell.” 

I hid a smile. The kid had spunk.

Clarisse didn’t take it the same way. She growled. “We got an initiation ceremony for newbies, Prissy.”

“Percy,” he corrected calmly.

“Whatever. Come on, I’ll show you.”

“Clarisse—“ I started, knowing exactly where she was going and what she would do. Even though I’d been pretty harsh with Percy before, the guy didn’t deserve this the day after he got here. Especially after losing his mom.

“Stay out of it, wise girl,” Clarisse glanced at her friends. And I knew that if I interfered, my face would get pounded in. I was doing the wise thing, as my mother would want.

Percy didn’t look at all nervous. He actually seemed pretty sure of himself. He handed me his Minotaur horn, rucked up his sleeves, and took up a fighting stance. But, Clarisse already had him by the collar and was dragging him toward the girls’ bathroom. Percy was kicking and punching with fever, only tiring himself out. 

“Like he’s ‘Big Three’ material,” Clarisse laughed as she pushed him toward one of the toilets. “Yeah, right. Minotaur probably fell over laughing, he was so stupid looking.”

I stood in the corner, glaring at the scene. 

This is why Athena hated Ares. And why I hated Clarisse.

Clarisse bent Percy over on his knees and started pushing his head towards the toilet bowl. Percy fought. It seemed like his mind was on one track: no way in Hades was he going into that toilet.

Then something happened. The plumbing rumbled as well as the pipes. Water shot out of the toilet, Clarisse let go of Percy (sending him sprawling onto the bathroom tiles), and she let out a loud scream.

I watched in fascination as the toilet splurged water again. It hit Clarisse right in the face, knocking her to the ground. The water didn’t let up either. It pushed her back into a shower stall.

Her friends went to help her, but the other six toilets exploded. I realized too late that the spot I was standing in was the perfect place to be sprayed. Quickly, I ducked my head down as the water pummeled down onto my neck. When I looked up, Clarisse and her friends were being swept out of the bathroom like there was a current pushing them away from Percy and I. 

Shocked, I stared at Percy. He was sitting in the only dry spot. Not a drop of water on him. 

He stood shakily.

“How did you ... “ I trailed off, looking around. The whole bathroom was flooded. My shoes were soaked and my socks as well. Hair was plastered to my neck. My Camp Half-Blood shirt was dripping. Water was in places that made it uncomfortable to move. It was a mess.

“I don’t know,” Percy said, just as dumb-founded as me.

We walked to the door in a daze. I was still very confused about the whole scene in the bathroom. But, seeing Clarisse and her friends in the mud lightened my mood a little. She glared at us, tunneling in on Percy. “You are dead, new boy. You are totally dead.”

Percy, with a renewed sense of confidence, said, “You want to gargle with toilet water again, Clarisse? Close your mouth.” 

Her friends pulled her back, dragging her back to cabin five.

I stared at Percy with interest. If I took the right opportunity, I could seriously benefit from this rivalry brewing between him and Clarisse. Like win the capture-the-flag game. 

“What?” Percy demanded, noticing my gaze. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking,” I answered, tapping my chin, “that I want you on my team for capture-the-flag.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAY! Another Friday, another chapter. Want y'all to know that I am currently working on chapter 13 and whew, is it a difficult one. But, never fear! I will push through this writer's block and keep updating.
> 
> Anyway, what did y'all think of this chapter? Like it, love it, hate it? I don't know so COMMENT. That way I can see your thoughts.
> 
> See y'all next Friday! :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annabeth Chase has only ever known Camp Half-Blood. That’s not exactly true, but that’s what it feels like. She wants a way out. And when Percy Jackson stumbles into her home, she knows that’s it. But, with rumors of an impeding war between the gods brewing and her own destiny written, Annabeth is in for more than a simple adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys. This one's a long one so grab a snack, sit back and relax. Unless, you're fasting because IT'S RAMADAN! RAMADAN MUBARAK! Now, let's get right into it.
> 
> Disclaimer: I am not Rick.

THE MILKSHAKE THAT HAS NO MILK IN IT  
Giving Percy the rest of the tour, I was pretty miffed. Chiron would not want me to leave a new camper alone so that I could take care of personal needs like showering and changing. So, I walked through camp with my sneakers squelching, my clothes and hair dripping, and toilet water getting in my mouth. 

“I’ve got training to do,” I said flatly to Percy when we made it to the canoeing lake. “Dinner’s at seven-thirty. Just follow your cabin to the mess hall.”

“Annabeth,” Percy stopped me from stomping off, “I’m sorry about the toilets.”

“Whatever,” I looked away.

“It wasn’t my fault,” he insisted. 

I raised an eyebrow at him. “You need to talk to the Oracle.”

“Who?” Percy questioned.

“Not who. What. The Oracle. I’ll ask Chiron.” I said distractedly, preoccupied with thinking about who this kid could possibly be.

When I looked back at him, he was smiling impishly and waving at the naiads in the lake. I rolled my eyes. Boys.

“Don’t encourage them,” I warned, pulling him away. “Naiads are terrible flirts.”

“Naiads,” Percy repeated distantly, looking overwhelmed. “That’s it. I want to go home.”

I frowned at him. “Don’t you get it, Percy? You are home. This is the only safe place on earth for kids like us.”

“You mean, mentally disturbed kids?” I didn’t like the way he looked at me pointedly. I glared at him.

“I mean not human. Not totally human, anyway. Half-human."

"Half-human and half-what?”

I stared at him sympathetically. “I think you know.”

“God,” he said silently. “Half-god.”

I nodded. “You’re father isn’t dead, Percy. He’s one of the Olympians.”

“That’s ... crazy,” he concluded.

“Is it?” I questioned. “What's the most common thing gods did in the old stories? They ran around falling in love with humans and having kids with them. Do you think they've changed their habits in the last few millennia?”

“But those are just—“ he almost said myths. I knew because I’d heard it too many times. He stopped short, probably thinking over all the microscopical events in his life that made no sense before but were clicking into place now because of this one piece of information. “But if all these kids are half-gods—“

“Demigods,” I interrupted. “That’s the official term. Or half-bloods.”

“Then whose your dad?” Percy continued.

My hands tightened around the pier railing. Memories of my life with my dad whirled through me. A rush of nostalgia and anger and sadness filled my gut. 

“My dad is a professor at West Point,” I said bitterly, remembering all the times he’d come home from work and reluctantly say hi to me before going off to play with his toys. “I haven’t seen him since I was very small. He teaches American history.”

“He’s human,” Percy stated, surprised.

“What? You assume it has to be a male god who finds a human female attractive? How sexist is that?” I shouldn’t have snapped at Percy. It was only natural to assume my father was an Olympian if his was. Psychology and whatnot. But I was wound up after thinking about my dad. 

“Who’s your mom, then?” Percy corrected, not in the slightest offended. For some odd reason, I felt a rush of relief that he wasn’t.

“Cabin six,” I answered automatically.

“Meaning?” he pushed. I forgot that he still didn’t know all the cabins’ patrons.

“Athena,” I straightened, “Goddess of wisdom and battle.”

Percy looked skeptical. His eyes trailed over me, sizing me up. Then he shrugged as if accepting it. After all, it probably wasn’t the weirdest thing he’d heard today. “And my dad?”

“Undetermined,” I said, “like I told you before. Nobody knows.”

“Except my mother. She knew.”

“Maybe not, Percy. Gods don’t always reveal their identities.”

“My dad would have. He loved her,” Percy said with absolute confidence.

I eyed him cautiously. Kid was so sure that I couldn’t bring myself to tell him that the gods didn’t love like mortals. They couldn’t. “Maybe you're right. Maybe he'll send a sign. That's the only way to know for sure: your father has to send you a sign claiming you as his son. Sometimes it happens.”

“You mean sometimes it doesn’t?” he asked, a little bit disgusted.

I ran my palm across the rail nervously. How do you tell a kid that his father potentially didn’t care about him after he had a day like this?

“The gods are busy. They have a lot of kids and they don't always ... Well, sometimes they don't care about us, Percy. They ignore us.”

Percy looked disgruntled and upset. His eyebrows were furrowed and his fists were clenched. He worried his bottom lip with his teeth. “So I’m stuck here. That’s it? For the rest of my life?”

“It depends," I said. "Some campers only stay the summer. If you're a child of Aphrodite or Demeter, you're probably not a real powerful force. The monsters might ignore you, so you can get by with a few months of summer training and live in the mortal world the rest of the year. But for some of us, it's too dangerous to leave. We're year-rounders. In the mortal world, we attract monsters. They sense us. They come to challenge us. Most of the time, they'll ignore us until we're old enough to cause trouble—about ten or eleven years old, but after that, most demigods either make their way here, or they get killed off. A few manage to survive in the outside world and become famous. Believe me, if I told you the names, you'd know them. Some don't even realize they're demigods. But very, very few are like that.”

Percy blinked. He seemed to be processing the information bit by bit. “So monsters can’t get in here?” 

I was glad that he’s at least drawn some kind of conclusion from my long explanation. 

I shook my head, answering his question. “Not unless they're intentionally stocked in the woods or specially summoned by somebody on the inside.”

“Why would anybody want to summon a monster?”

“Practice fights. Practical jokes.” I said offhandedly.

“Practical jokes?” Percy asked incredulously.

“The point is,” I moved on quickly, “the borders are sealed to keep mortals and monsters out. From the outside, mortals look into the valley and see nothing unusual, just a strawberry farm.”

“So ... you’re a year-rounder?” He asked carefully. I could tell he had ten million questions about why I didn’t leave. Like most of the new campers. They all asked the same thing: why don’t you live with your dad?

I nodded to answer his question. From under the collar of my shirt, I pulled my beaded camp necklace out, looping my finger through the college ring strung on it.

“I’ve been here since I was seven,” I said. “Every August, on the last day of summer session, you get a bead for surviving another year. I've been here longer than most of the counselors, and they're all in college.”

“Why did you come so young?”

That was the other question I had an automated response for.

“None of your business.”

“Oh,” Percy shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably. “So ... I could just walk out of here right now if I wanted to?”

“It would be suicide, but you could, with Mr. D's or Chiron's permission. But they wouldn't give permission until the end of the summer session unless ...”

“Unless?”

“You were granted a quest. But that hardly ever happens. The last time ...”

My voice trailed off. Images of Luke’s anguished and scared face came back to me. His disheartened attitude. The subtle anger lacing his voice when he spoke about the gods. A cold glare when I was caught staring at the scar he had won as his reward too long ...

“Back in the sick room,” Percy said, “when you were feeding me that stuff—“

“Ambrosia.”

“Yeah. You asked me something about the summer solstice.”

My shoulders tensed. The way he said it, cautiously, as if he had known or heard about it before. “So you do know something?”

“Well... no. Back at my old school, I overheard Grover and Chiron talking about it. Grover mentioned the summer solstice. He said something like we didn't have much time, because of the deadline. What did that mean?”

I clenched my fists. It was killing me: not knowing. “I wish I knew. Chiron and the satyrs, they know, but they won't tell me. Something is wrong in Olympus, something pretty major. Last time I was there, everything seemed so normal.”

“You’ve been to Olympus?”

“Some of us year-rounders—Luke and Clarisse and I and a few others—we took a field trip during winter solstice. That's when the gods have their big annual council.” 

“But... how did you get there?” 

“The Long Island Railroad, of course. You get off at Penn Station. Empire State Building, special elevator to the six hundredth floor.” I raised an eyebrow. “You are a New Yorker, right?”

“Oh, sure,” Percy nodded, pretending to understand my logic.

I almost smirked. I knew he didn’t know about any of this; I just wanted to give him a hard time. He was fun to mess with.

“Right after we visited," I continued, "the weather got weird, as if the gods had started fighting. A couple of times since, I've overheard satyrs talking. The best I can figure out is that something important was stolen. And if it isn't returned by summer solstice, there's going to be trouble. When you came, I was hoping ... I mean—Athena can get along with just about anybody, except for Ares. And of course she's got the rivalry with Poseidon. But, I mean, aside from that, I thought we could work together. I thought you might know something.”

Percy shook his. He looked sympathetic, like he wanted to help me. But I knew that he was too tired and hungry to even comprehend fully what had happened in the last 24 hours. 

“I've got to get a quest,” I muttered to myself. “I'm not too young. If they would just tell me the problem ...”

Percy let out a small noise of longing when the smell of barbecue wafted over to us. I told him to go on and that I’d catch him later.

He left me to my thoughts.

I knew I had to be getting back. My duties as cabin six head including leading my siblings to dinner. By the dipping sun, I could tell that it was almost that time. But I also had to think.

My feet carried me to the beach. I kicked my shoes off and peeled my soaking socks away from my feet. Sliding down next to surf, I let my feet glide into the Long Island Sound. The waves lapped over them comfortingly. My eyes drifted over the water. I surprised myself when I thought of how the color was strikingly similar to Percy’s eyes. 

“What’re you thinking about?” 

My head snapped up to see Grover bending to sit next to me. 

“Oh, hey,” I sighed, directing my attention back to the water. I could see Grover’s hooves from my peripheral vision.

“Are you okay?” Grover questioned.

“Yeah,” I frowned, contradicting my statement. “I’m just thinking about the new kid.”

“You mean Percy?” 

“Mm,” I answered. “I don’t know, Grover. Something’s not right on Olympus. And I just have ... an intuition that this kid’s got something to do with it. I don’t know how to explain it.”

“I’ve been with Percy since September,” Grover started. “And yeah, he’s definitely powerful. I was hoping he was the son of Hermes or something, but I’m not so sure anymore. Everyone’s saying he may be one of the Big Three’s. But you know what that means. It’ll be bad. For all of us. Especially Percy.”

“If he is, what does that mean for us? We’re part of that prophecy.”

“I’m not,” Grover insisted.

“Grover,” I looked at him. “Come on. We were both there when Chiron told me about my fate. You were there when I read it. You’re the one that met Percy first. If he’s the one, then, for better or for worse, you’re in this.”

“I know,” Grover deflated. “I just don’t want to sign up for something that might get me killed before I can even start searching for Pan.”

“Hey, that prophecy’s years away,” I assured him, “and that’s if Percy’s the one. Who knows? Maybe, twenty years down the road, some kid comes stumbling in here and their the one.” Even as I said the words, I didn’t believe them. Something was stirring, and it wasn’t cake batter.

“We better get back,” Grover said after a second. We both clambered up. I grabbed my sneakers and socks, waved bye, and ran off to my cabin for quick shower before the conch shell blew. 

I was hanging my towel up when it did. 

“Six! Fall in!” I shouted even though it wasn’t loud inside.

Immediately, my cabin lined up in order of seniority. I was first, Malcolm, my half-brother was right behind me. He was a year older than me but I had been here longer. Then six other kids behind him. We marched up to the dining pavilion. 

I ushered my siblings into the bench of our table before taking a seat. My brothers and sisters spoke with each other. Most of the conversation revolved around mathematics and philosophy. I would usually join in, but today, I was focusing on table eleven. I wanted to to draw as much as I could from Percy’s behavior. 

The mess hall went quiet when Chiron pounded his hoof against the marble. “To the gods!” He raised his glass. We echoed him and raised our glasses. 

“Fredrick Chase’s vanilla milkshake,” I uttered to my glass. Instantaneously, white, frothy liquid filled my cup. I took a sip and smiled. It didn’t taste good at all. Actually, it was terrible. The first time my dad made these, he used Greek yogurt and whipped cream. We didn’t have any milk or ice cream. I was six, and when I tried it, I choked. My dad and I had had a fit of laughter. From then on, even if we had ice cream and milk in the fridge, we made it like that. 

I looked over again at Percy to see him taking a sip of a carbonated, bright blue solution. My confusion grew at the color. Luke passed a platter of smoked brisket over to Percy. I turned back to my plate before Percy could notice my staring. 

After I piled my plate high with food, I shoved off to the fire. I dropped the biggest olive in it and whispered my mom’s name before heading back to my seat. My friends were all doing the same as I. Percy was in line behind Luke. Malcolm in front of him. I didn’t see Grover anywhere, which was a surprise because he was usually first. 

Finally, after everyone had finished their food, Chiron pounded his hoof again for our attention.

Mr D got up with a huge sigh. “Yes, I suppose I'd better say hello to all you brats. Well, hello. Our activities director, Chiron, says the next capture-the-flag is Friday. Cabin five presently holds the laurels.”

Ares’ kids grew rowdy. Clarisse cheered the loudest and the ugliest. She sent a smug look my way and I responded with a crinkled nose.

“Personally,” Mr D continued, “I couldn't care less, but congratulations. Also, I should tell you that we have a new camper today. Peter Johnson.”

Chiron cleared his throat and murmured something.

“Er, Percy Jackson,” Mr. D corrected. “That's right. Hurrah, and all that. Now run along to your silly campfire. Go on.”

Everyone cheered, like always. There was a massive, disorganized jumble of children running to the amphitheater. The fire was lit there. A s’mores table was set up. When everyone was comfortable, the Apollo kids started singing. Most everyone joined in. 

I laughed at Tracy, the youngest of cabin six (only ten), who was screaming at the top of her lungs. After she nudged me with her sharp elbow, I began to sing as well. 

The fire was glowing red and golden with orange and yellow. It reflected the campers mental state. Right now, it was content and excited. There was a hint of deep blue but it vanished as fast as it had streamed through the flames.

I thought of the color of Percy’s drink. Maybe he had briefly thought of his mom and that caused a shock of sadness that resulted in the fire’s change in color. But when my eyes scanned the crowd, I couldn’t find him. After a few seconds of searching, I gave up and continued singing, letting him slip from my mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, chapter 5 was a doozy. Long, but I hope y'all liked it.
> 
> Leave a comment, please.
> 
> Alright, that's it. See you next Friday. :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annabeth Chase has only ever known Camp Half-Blood. That’s not exactly true, but that’s what it feels like. She wants a way out. And when Percy Jackson stumbles into her home, she knows that’s it. But, with rumors of an impeding war between the gods brewing and her own destiny written, Annabeth is in for more than a simple adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo, I am so hungry right now. It's right before Iftar (time to open fast) and I'm at my wit's end. Plus, I have this choir sight reading thing I have to record and submit and I'm really not looking forward to it but whatevs because procrastination is a thing. I'm here though and ready to serve.
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter contains a brief flashback. A flashback is a result of a traumatic event. It's not that long and towards the end of the chapter and it does not have any assault of any kind. But, it's there.
> 
> Disclaimer: Still not Rick.

PERCY GETS CLAIMED (IT'S NOT GOOD)

The next few days went by in a blur. Every morning, I'd tutor Percy in Ancient Greek. Then, I'd go off and instruct a class on mapping techniques, rotating activities through the day and teaching my cabin sparring on Wednesday.

Friday was spent in my cabin, conjuring strategies for the game and mapping out sections to place my troops. I knew it wasn't a real battle, but it was as close as I could get to one. Making a plan, sticking to it, executing it.

Right before dinner, I went to cabin eleven to talk to Luke.

"Hey," Luke stepped out of the cabin. I felt a familiar heat streak across my face.

"No one can hear us?" I asked, glancing around.

Luke raised his eyebrows and looked down at me, shaking his head.

"Percy around?" I specified.

"No," Luke answered, "he's with Grover on the pier. What's this about, Anna-banana?"

I pushed down my irritation. "I have a plan for capture-the-flag. Athena's good at defense. We'll stay by the flag on the ground. Some of the Hermes kids are in the trees with some of Apollo. Your guys are gonna scout out enemy closing in and signal to the archers to shoot. Now, I've got you with a team on the offense. Go around the flank. There's another team out there too. That's where Percy comes in. Clarisse won't pass up an opportunity to get back at him. I'm putting him in the creek by himself. Clarisse will get a couple of her siblings and go after him. She'll leave her flag undefended because she's too confident in her offense team. Get there, grab the flag, and cross the boundary line."

"What about Percy?" Luke asked worriedly. "Clarisse will crush him if he doesn't have any help."

"That's what I'm here for. I'll get there before any real damage can occur. Blitz attack her with my invisibility cap and surprise her friends. I'll have the upper hand then. You don't have to worry about us."

"You've really thought this through," he stated.

"I want that flag, Luke," I said seriously, crossing my arms.

He chuckled and patted me. "Cool, kiddo. Just don't take it too seriously. I gotta go before they destroy each other in there."

He was gone before I could get another word in.

• • •

An excited air buzzed around the pavilion after dinner. The game was here and everyone was pumped.

Tracy was hyped because this was the first time she'd bring the flag in. She grinned widely at me, her missing tooth staring me right in the face. I smiled back down at her and grabbed the pole, hoisting the flag above my head while Malcom and Tracy held the end of it to support some of the weight. We cheered and yelled as we ran into the pavilion. I caught a glance of Percy smiling next to Luke.

Clarisse and two of her siblings ran in from the other side of the pavilion. The Apollo kids had a beat going with their stomping feet and clapping hands. They got everyone else into it while Clarisse and I went to the front of the pavilion with our flags and our seconds next to us.

Chiron hammered his hoof into the floor.

"Heroes!" he announced. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!"

I watched as the pavilion broke into chaos to find the perfect weapon. Mine was tucked into my sleeve, my invisibility cap in my pocket. Which was why I didn't get a helmet. And because I was captain and captains didn't wear helmets to be recognized among the mass of soldiers.

A small smile spread across my face at the ridiculous sight in front of me. Luke was strapping Percy into his helmet. It was too big and kept falling into his eyes. Finally, Luke pushed it up so it sat on top of his hair. Along with the shield that was probably as tall of I was, Percy looked positively absurd.

"Blue team," I yelled, looking away from the scene, "forward!"

A chorus of cheers erupted around me. The Apollo kids brought their bows in the air while the Hermes and Athena kids shook their swords. They followed me as I started towards the south woods. I ignored the jeering and taunts thrown my way by the other team, but the some of the Hermes kids cursed back.

"Hey," Percy stumbled up beside me.

I kept my eyes trained on the terrain and marched on.

"So what's the plan?" he asked. "Got any magic items you can loan me?"

My hand shot to my pocket, making sure that the Yankees baseball cap was still there. If I didn't have that, I wouldn't be able to save Percy from Clarisse and her friends. I almost let a sigh of relief pass through me when I felt its outline.

"Just watch Clarisse's spear," I said. "You don't want that thing touching you. Otherwise, don't worry. We'll take the banner from Ares. Has Luke given you your job?"

"Border patrol, whatever that means."

"It's easy. Stand by the creek, keep the reds away. Leave the rest to me. Athena always has a plan." I didn't want to give too much away so I pushed ahead.

We dropped Percy off at the creek. Then, the rest of the team and I disappeared into the trees.

The red team had the Northern woods. Which also meant they had Zeus's Fist. They'd choose the put their flag up there. It'd be harder to get it but I had confidence that Luke could do it.

But that meant that we had the Southern Woods. And that meant no high ground. I would have to put more people on defense than offense. Usually, I had an even number on both. I didn't like that not as many people would be out there. But, I had to work with it.

My team split into the groups they were assigned to. Luke and two Apollo kids along with another Hermes kid scattered into the woods. Another team consisting of three from Apollo and two from Hermes went in the opposite direction. Athena stationed themselves in a protective formation around the flag. The rest of the Apollo and Hermes kids climbed the trees.

When I was happy with the defense, I took off into the woods. Most everyone knew that I'd get antsy on defense, waiting for an attack, that's why I always went on the offense. But, today, I wasn't running into the woods to capture a flag. Clarisse would already be at the creak by now. It took five minutes to get there from where I was.

I got there in two.

And I skidded to a stop in surprise.

Percy was in the creak, sword in hand, helmet still falling into his eyes. But now, it didn't look so laughable. It was more terrifying. Because there were five Ares kids in the water, Clarisse being one, and Percy had just slammed one of them in the head with the hilt of his sword.

The dude crumpled like a soda can.

There was a pause of shock before two more kids advanced. Percy slammed his shield into one of their faces and sheared off the horsehair plum of the other's helmet with his sword. Only Clarisse and one other kid was left standing. The other kid backed off but Clarisse kept coming, her spear crackling with energy.

I started forward again, but before I could even reach the creak, Percy had snapped the spear in two.

"Ah!" Clarisse screamed furiously. "You idiot! You corpse-breath worm!"

Percy smacked her between the eyes with the hilt of his blade.

I was so stunned by his sudden burst of whatever-the-Hades-that-was that I jumped when I heard the hoots and screaming. Luke was running with the Ares flag in hand toward the boundary line. His group was behind him fighting off some Hephaestus kids.

"A trick!" Clarisse cursed dazedly. "It was a trick."

It was too late though because Luke leaped across the creak into friendly territory as everyone converged there. The blue team exploded into cheers. They hoisted Luke up onto their shoulders as the banner shimmered and turned silver. The cabin eleven symbol appeared on it. Chiron galloped into the woods and blew the conch horn.

We'd won.

I grinned widely and watched Luke cheering with his cabin mates. My attention was brought back to Percy after a moment and decided to congratulate him on his victory against Clarisse.

He was still in the creek, grinning while watching the celebration, distracted.

"Not bad, hero," I whispered in his ear.

His head snapped toward my direction and he spun around when he couldn't find me.

"Where the heck did you learn to fight like that?" I pulled the cap off my head.

"You set me up!" Percy eyes lit up angrily, disregarding my question. "You put me here because you knew Clarisse would come after me, while you sent Luke around the flank. You had it all figured out."

I shrugged. "I told you. Athena always, always has a plan."

"A plan to get me pulverized."

"I came as fast as I could. I was about to jump in, but ..." I recalled the scene. "You didn't need help." My eyes trailed to his arm, where I'd seen blood before. Where a huge sword cut had been was a white scar, healing fast. "How did you do that?"

"Sword cut," Percy said, not noticing. "What do you think?"

"No. It was a sword cut. Look at it," I commanded, watching as the scar faded and disappeared.

"I—I don't get it," Percy stammered, tracing his finger over where the cut had been a second ago.

I thought back to the bathrooms, when Percy had blown the toilets up but hadn't gotten himself wet. He was standing in the creek right now but his pants didn't seem to be wet. His fighting skills improved immensely when he was in the water. He healed remarkably fast. He even looked like this was where he belonged.

Oh, no.

"Step out of the water, Percy," I said, trying to prove my suspicions.

"Wha—"

"Just do it."

Percy came out of the creek and immediately, he stumbled. I caught his forearms and steadied him, carrying his weight.

"Oh, Styx," I cursed. "This is not good. I didn't want ... I assumed it would be Zeus... " This was not the right time for a son of Poseidon to reveal himself.

A growl ripped through the sticky night. It was close, almost on top of us. I snapped to attention, still holding Percy up.

"Stand ready!" Chiron yelled in Ancient Greek. "My bow!"

I drew my sword, knowing what the monster in the woods was smelling: Percy. Turning, I looked at what we were dealing with.

Sitting on the rocks above us was a hellhound.

Suddenly, I was seven again. My eyes were trained frightfully on the black dog the size of a rhino. Its sharp teeth and glittering, red eyes looked murderous. This was my first time seeing a creature from the Underworld. Thalia's loud voice rang behind me.

I shook myself from the traumatic memory and pushed the tears away. Remembering Thalia had kicked me into a fighting stance. I had to protect Percy like she had protected me.

"Percy, run!" I screamed, pushing him behind me, sword out ready for defense.

The hound was too fast though. It bounded over me and hit Percy. I spun around to see him stumble back as the hound clawed through his armor.

As I was about to thrust my sword into its back, Chiron had shot it with his arrow. The Apollo archers quickly followed suit.

The monster let out a whine before rolling over and collapsing next to Percy's feet.

I looked at Percy. Under his ruined armor was his shredded skin. The hellhound had torn his chest into three gashes. Blood was freely flowing from his wounds.

Chiron came up next to me, bow in hand.

"Di immortales!" I exclaimed, realizing what had happened. "That's a hellhound from the Fields of Punishment. They don't ... they're not supposed to ..."

"Someone summoned it," Chiron said. "Someone inside the camp."

Luke rushed over; his face contorted in worry.

Clarisse yelled, "It's all Percy's fault! Percy summoned it!"

Before I could smack her, Chiron had intervened. "Be quiet, child."

"You're wounded," I turned to Percy as he watched the hellhound disappear. My worry intensified at his swaying. "Quick, Percy, get in the water."

"I'm okay," he said, staggering on his feet.

"No, you're not," I said with forcefulness. "Chiron, watch this."

Percy droopily stepped back into the creek. The gashes in his chest healed instantly.

A collective gasp was heard.

"Look, I—I don't know why," Percy said, trying to apologize. "I'm sorry..."

But we weren't looking at his healed chest. It was the glowing, green trident above his head that had our attention. I had known he was the son of Poseidon. But, to be claimed by the god was a whole different problem.

"Percy," I said, pointing above his head. "Um..."

He looked up and paled, snapping his gaze back to me in alarm.

"Your father," I murmured. "This is really not good."

"It is determined," Chiron boomed, though hesitantly.

I knelt along with the others, head bowed so that I wouldn't have to see him looking at me in confusion.

"My father?" Percy asked, still in a daze.

"Poseidon," said Chiron. "Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are, at the end of another chapter. I'm gonna wrap this up quick because I really want to go eat now, but thanks for reading! AND PLEASE COMMENT!
> 
> Until next week! :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annabeth Chase has only ever known Camp Half-Blood. That’s not exactly true, but that’s what it feels like. She wants a way out. And when Percy Jackson stumbles into her home, she knows that’s it. But, with rumors of an impeding war between the gods brewing and her own destiny written, Annabeth is in for more than a simple adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY, Y'ALL! Guess who's in an insanely good mood after what felt like centuries? ME! First of all, news of the live action PJO tv series hit and instantly saved 2020 from being maybe the crappiest year in my life. AND I got my graduation stuff today and found out I'm gonna be GRADUATING JUNE 4th! Plus, I got FOUR HONORS CORDS?! I mean, not a big deal but also A HUGE DEAL BECAUSE I WORKED MY HEART OUT THESE LAST FOUR YEARS AND I'M GRADUATING HONORS?! AHHHHHHHH–
> 
> Okay, so this could go on for a while if I don't stop now.
> 
> ANYWAY, enjoy the chapter!
> 
> Disclaimer: This chapter is literally almost an entire chapter out of the book. I didn't want it to be like that because I don't like just kind of copying and pasting, but it was integral to the plot so I had to put it in. I'M NOT RICK.

FINALLY, FINALLY, I GET A QUEST

I followed Chiron back to the Big House after the creek. Once we were on the porch, I jumped in front of him to stop him from entering.

"You knew," I stated, crossing my arms.

"Child," Chiron sighed and rubbed his thumb and forefinger over his eyes in irritation. I had an inkling that he wasn't very happy with these conversations I liked to spring on him.

"Come on, Chiron," I whined. "I really want some answers."

"No, Annabeth," Chiron exhaled heavily. "I didn't know."

"I've known you for five years, Chiron," I narrowed my eyes. "I know when you know things."

"I had my suspicions," Chiron finally said. "I was hoping it wasn't true though. After what happened to Thalia ..."

Suddenly, the wood porch seemed very interesting. My fingers traced the pine tree outline on the first bead on my camp necklace. The hellhound had sprung a floorboard in my mind and suppressed memories were leaking out.

"Annabeth," Chiron reached down and placed his hands on my shoulders. "I have trained millions of half-bloods. And most of them had a very short life. I could not afford to love them like they should have been loved. Otherwise I would tear myself apart when they inevitably passed. But you came to me when you were so little, so broken already by the world." Chiron took a moment to collect himself.

I didn't know what Chiron was trying to say. I'd never known him to get emotional with anyone. This was difficult for him, I could see that much.

"I know your fate," Chiron continued, straightening and removing his hands from my shoulders. "Please, be careful. Though by demigod standards you are of age, it is too soon for me." I blinked at the intensity of his words.

I nodded, confused by this encounter, and took my leave quickly, heading back to my cabin.

"Annabeth!"

I turned to see Percy tripping over himself to catch up with me. He looked good for a kid who had almost been ripped to confetti two minutes ago.

"Can I talk to you?" Percy asked when he stopped in front of me.

"It's what we're doing right now," I answered.

"Oh, yeah," Percy rubbed his neck awkwardly.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" I looked at him inquisitively.

"What did you mean?" he blurted out. "You said 'this isn't good' when I was claimed. Why?"

I sighed. "You know about the Oath? The oath on the River Styx the Big Three made after World War II?"

Percy nodded.

"That's why," I said. I didn't tell him about the real reason, but that was close enough.

"So what happened to that girl, Thalia? It could happen to me?"

I almost winced when I heard her name. "I'm not sure if you'll turn into a pine tree, but you could—could die."

"Oh," Percy cringed. "I'd—I'd get to see my mom again, if I died, right?"

"Look," I said, "I don't know what's going to happen to you. Considering that your dad broke an oath on the River Styx, the Oath, it doesn't look good. Technically, it's a crime against the greatest law of the universe for you to even be alive. But, Thalia, her soul is preserved forever in that tree. So, she'll be alive much longer than any of us. There is still a chance for you. If you prove yourself worthy to your dad and the gods."

"How do I do that?" Percy questioned.

"Get yourself a quest," I answered automatically.

"But you said they didn't do that anymore."

"I don't think you're grasping how big this is to us. You're the only living child of one of the Big Three. The rules have changed."

"I—I haven't even been here a week," Percy exclaimed.

"The gods don't care about that, Percy," I explained. "And it's not in any way fair, but it's how it is. We've all learned to live with it. You gotta learn a little faster."

"I just want to be a normal kid again."

"You were never a normal kid, Percy."

I noticed Percy's posture drooping and his eyelids growing heavy.

"You need rest," I stated. "Chiron's not going to move you tonight, so this is your last night in cabin eleven."

• • •

The days after that were mostly uneventful.

I would still teach Greek to Percy in the mornings. He would try talking to me, but things were confusing already. Our parents weren't friends. We weren't supposed to be friends.

I could still tell that he was lonely. Kids stopped talking to him. They kept their distance. Most of them whispered about him. They'd stare and then skitter away. Only Grover didn't seem to be fazed by the news. He hung around Percy more than he used to.

I'd also noticed Mr D talking to Chiron more. They'd talk heatedly and quietly. After a few minutes, a camper would ask Chiron for something and they'd have to cut off the conversation. Finally, about three days later, Chiron seemed to win the argument.

It was early morning. Most of the campers were still sleeping. I'd woken up because I knew this was when Chiron and Mr D played pinochle. With my Yankees cap on my head, I snuck onto the porch of the Big House and spied on their conversation.

"It would be easier to just kill him," Mr D said lazily, dealing the cards.

"Our job is protecting half-bloods," Chiron explained. "Killing one is not considered protecting."

"He'll just cause trouble," Mr D leaned back in his seat.

"That might be true," Chiron nodded. "However, it might not. The quest is the only way to prove that."

Mr D sighed. "I'm too bored to talk about this anymore. I concede. You will have your wish and the child will go on this ... quest."

I ripped the cap off my head.

"I volunteer!" My voice didn't surprise them. They had known I was there.

Chiron looked at me. "Sit, child."

I sat across from him.

"Here," Chiron handed me a few cards. "Let's play."

"I don't want to play," I said, throwing the cards down on the table. "I want to go on that quest."

"You've already volunteered," Chiron said. "Now it's up to Percy if he wants to take you or not."

"I know," I sighed, picking the cards back up. "He'll take Grover. But he wouldn't know who to choose after that. I've made it easier on him by volunteering."

The three of us had been playing for a little while when Grover scampered past the Big House.

"Satyr!" Mr D called.

Grover froze and backtracked.

"Perry Jamestin, bring him," Mr D said.

"Y—Yes, sir," Grover stuttered and ran off.

Quickly, I whipped out my cap and disappeared.

Chiron and Mr D didn't question my motives. They were used to me.

We continued playing.

I let my thoughts guide me to the weather. I'd noticed it when I woke up. The sky wasn't light blue like most days. It was an inky gray. The sun was hiding. There was humidity in the air.

It was going to rain.

"Well, well," Mr D caught my attention. "Our little celebrity."

I looked up. Percy was standing on the porch next to Grover.

This would be interesting.

"Come closer," Mr D said. "And don't expect me to kowtow to you, mortal, just because old Barnacle Beard is your father."

A flash of lightening cracked across the clouds. Booms of thunder rattled the table.

"Blah, blah, blah," Mr D went back to studying his cards.

Grover's hooves clopped back and forth by the railing where he was cowering away from the scene. Chiron was pretending to pay attention to the game.

"If I had my way," Dionysus said, "I would cause your molecules to erupt in flames. We'd sweep up the ashes and be done with a lot of trouble. But Chiron seems to feel this would be against my mission at this cursed camp: to keep you little brats safe from harm."

"Spontaneous combustion is a form of harm, Mr D," Chiron put in.

"Nonsense," Mr D said. "Boy wouldn't feel a thing. Nevertheless, I've agreed to restrain myself. I'm thinking of turning you into a dolphin instead, sending you back to your father."

"Mr. D—" Chiron warned.

"Oh, all right," Mr D relented. "There's one more option. But it's deadly foolishness." Dionysus rose, and I dropped my cards to the table. "I'm off to Olympus for the emergency meeting. If the boy is still here when I get back, I'll turn him into an Atlantic bottlenose. Do you understand? And Perseus Jackson, if you're at all smart, you'll see that's a much more sensible choice than what Chiron feels you must do."

Mr D picked up a playing card, flipped it, and it become a plastic security card. I'd seen him do it a million times over when he needed to go to Olympus.

Dionysus snapped his fingers.

The waves of air bent and twisted him into a hologram, then a wind. He was gone the next moment.

"Sit, Percy, please," Chiron smiled tiredly. "And Grover."

Percy sat in Mr D's empty seat.

Grover, more confident now that Mr D was gone, trotted forward and sat across from Percy.

Chiron sighed as he laid his cards down. He didn't get use the winning hand against Mr D and me.

"Tell me, Percy," Chiron started. "What did you make of the hellhound?"

I shifted uncomfortably.

"It scared me," Percy said. "If you hadn't shot it, I'd be dead." He wouldn't have been dead. I'd have run it through with my sword and then helped nurse him back to health like I'd done a week ago. He was just being dramatic.

"You'll meet worse, Percy," Chiron warned. "Far worse, before you're done."

"Done ... with what?" Percy asked.

"Your quest, of course," Chiron said. "Will you accept it?"

Percy glanced at Grover, who was crossing his fingers under the table.

"Um, sir," Percy began, "you haven't told me what it is yet."

Chiron grimaced. "Well, that's the hard part, the details."

Thunder rumbled again. Storm clouds were gathering on the edge of the beach.

"Poseidon and Zeus," Percy realized. "They're fighting over something valuable ... something that was stolen, aren't they?" He learned that from me.

Chiron and Grover exchanged looks. Chiron sat forward in his wheelchair. "How did you know that?"

I winced. Guilty.

Percy flushed red. "The weather since Christmas has been weird, like the sea and the sky are fighting. Then I talked to Annabeth, and she'd overheard something about a theft." Come on, Percy. You didn't have to sell me out like that. "And ... I've also been having these dreams."

That piqued my interest. Dreams weren't the same for demigods. They were vivid and unforgettable. Usually, it was a sign of what was to happen.

"I knew it," Grover murmured.

"Hush, satyr," Chiron ordered.

"But it is his quest!" Grover exclaimed excitedly. "It must be!"

"Only the Oracle can determine." Chiron stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Nevertheless, Percy, you are correct. Your father and Zeus are having their worst quarrel in centuries. They are fighting over something valuable that was stolen. To be precise: a lightning bolt."

I sat up straight. Oh, no.

Percy laughed. "A what?"

My hand itched to slap the back of his head.

"Do not take this lightly," Chiron said. "I'm not talking about some tinfoil-covered zigzag you'd see in a second-grade play. I'm talking about a two-foot-long cylinder of high-grade celestial bronze, capped on both ends with god-level explosives."

"Oh."

I shook my head and silently face-palmed.

"Zeus's master bolt," Chiron was getting worked up. "The symbol of his power, from which all other lightning bolts are patterned. The first weapon made by the Cyclopes for the war against the Titans, the bolt that sheered the top off Mount Etna and hurled Kronos from his throne; the master bolt, which packs enough power to make mortal hydrogen bombs look like firecrackers."

"And it's missing?" was all Percy thought to say.

"Stolen," Chiron said.

"By who?"

"By whom," Chiron corrected. I rolled my eyes but smiled fondly. "By you."

Percy's mouth fell open. I was torn between laughing at his face or being taken aback by this turn of events.

"At least"—Chiron held up a hand—"that's what Zeus thinks. During the winter solstice, at the last council of the gods, Zeus and Poseidon had an argument. The usual nonsense: 'Mother Rhea always liked you best,' 'Air disasters are more spectacular than sea disasters,' et cetera. Afterward, Zeus realized his master bolt was missing, taken from the throne room under his very nose. He immediately blamed Poseidon. Now, a god cannot usurp another god's symbol of power directly—that is forbidden by the most ancient of divine laws. But Zeus believes your father convinced a human hero to take it."

"But I didn't—"

"Patience and listen, child," Chiron said. "Zeus has good reason to be suspicious. The forges of the Cyclopes are under the ocean, which gives Poseidon some influence over the makers of his brother's lightning. Zeus believes Poseidon has taken the master bolt, and is now secretly having the Cyclopes build an arsenal of illegal copies, which might be used to topple Zeus from his throne. The only thing Zeus wasn't sure about was which hero Poseidon used to steal the bolt. Now Poseidon has openly claimed you as his son. You were in New York over the winter holidays. You could easily have snuck into Olympus. Zeus believes he has found his thief."

"But I've never even been to Olympus! Zeus is crazy!"

That was extremely dumb. Even for Percy standards.

I glanced at the sky. The clouds were straight over our valley now, not parting like they usually did.

"Er, Percy ... ?" Grover bleated nervously. "We don't use the c-word to describe the Lord of the Sky."

"Perhaps paranoid," Chiron suggested. "Then again, Poseidon has tried to unseat Zeus before. I believe that was question thirty-eight on your final exam..."

Percy looked so lost. "Something about a golden net? Poseidon and Hera and a few other gods ... they, like, trapped Zeus and wouldn't let him out until he promised to be a better ruler, right?"

I was impressed. Maybe this wasn't as hopeless as it seemed before.

"Correct,""Chiron said. "And Zeus has never trusted Poseidon since. Of course, Poseidon denies stealing the master bolt. He took great offense at the accusation. The two have been arguing back and forth for months, threatening war. And now, you've come along—the proverbial last straw."

"But I'm just a kid!" Percy argued.

"Percy," Grover began, "if you were Zeus, and you already thought your brother was plotting to overthrow you, then your brother suddenly admitted he had broken the sacred oath he took after World War II, that he's fathered a new mortal hero who might be used as a weapon against you ... Wouldn't that put a twist in your toga?"

"But I didn't do anything. Poseidon—my dad—he didn't really have this master bolt stolen, did he?"

Chiron sighed. "Most thinking observers would agree that thievery is not Poseidon's style. But the Sea God is too proud to try convincing Zeus of that. Zeus has demanded that Poseidon return the bolt by the summer solstice. That's June twenty-first, ten days from now. Poseidon wants an apology for being called a thief by the same date. I hoped that diplomacy might prevail, that Hera or Demeter or Hestia would make the two brothers see sense. But your arrival has inflamed Zeus's temper. Now neither god will back down. Unless someone intervenes, unless the master bolt is found and returned to Zeus before the solstice, there will be war. And do you know what a full-fledged war would look like, Percy?"

"Bad?" Percy guessed.

There was no end to his idiocy, was there?

"Imagine the world in chaos. Nature at war with itself. Olympians forced to choose sides between Zeus and Poseidon. Destruction. Carnage. Millions dead. Western civilization turned into a battleground so big it will make the Trojan War look like a water-balloon fight." Chiron got a little dramatic sometimes. This was not one of those times.

"Bad," Percy repeated.

"And you, Percy Jackson, would be the first to feel Zeus's wrath."

The sound of water droplets pattered against the roof of the porch.

I looked out at the camp.

Rain fell over the valley. It was light, but a heavy message was being sent by the sudden change in weather: Zeus was punishing the whole camp for something Percy supposedly did.

"So I have to find the stupid bolt," Percy said angrily. "And return it to Zeus."

"What better peace offering," Chiron said, "than to have the son of Poseidon return Zeus's property?"

"If Poseidon doesn't have it, where is the thing?"

"I believe I know." Chiron's expression was grim. "Part of a prophecy I had years ago ... well, some of the lines make sense to me, now. But before I can say more, you must officially take up the quest. You must seek the counsel of the Oracle."

"Why can't you tell me where the bolt is beforehand?"

"Because if I did, you would be too afraid to accept the challenge."

Percy's fingers twitched anxiously. "Good reason."

"You agree then?"

Percy looked at Grover, who nodded encouragingly.

"All right," Percy looked like he was trying to sound brave. "It's better than being turned into a dolphin."

"Then it's time you consulted the Oracle," Chiron said. "Go upstairs, Percy Jackson, to the attic. When you come back down, assuming you're still sane, we will talk more."

• • •

"Well?" Chiron asked Percy.

Percy slumped into the same chair I had been sitting in a few minutes ago. "She said I would retrieve what was stolen."

Grover sat forward, chewing excitedly on Mr D's Diet Coke can. "That's great!"

"What did the Oracle say exactly?" Chiron pressed. "This is important."

Percy seemed to turn green. "She ... she said I would go west and face a god who had turned. I would retrieve what was stolen and see it safely returned."

"I knew it," Grover repeated his earlier sentiment.

"Anything else?" Chiron question skeptically.

There was a second of silence.

"No," Percy finally said, "that's about it."

He was lying.

Chiron studied Percy's face. "Very well, Percy. But know this: the Oracle's words often have double meanings. Don't dwell on them too much. The truth is not always clear until events come to pass."

"Okay," Percy said, his eyes flitting around nervously. "So where do I go? Who's this god in the west?"

"Ah, think, Percy," Chiron said. "If Zeus and Poseidon weaken each other in a war, who stands to gain?"

Hades was my immediate thought. A bitter taste filled my mouth.

"Somebody else who wants to take over?" Percy guessed.

"Yes, quite," Chiron nodded. "Someone who harbors a grudge, who has been unhappy with his lot since the world was divided eons ago, whose kingdom would grow powerful with the deaths of millions. Someone who hates his brothers for forcing him into an oath to have no more children, an oath that both of them have now broken."

"Hades," Percy said quietly.

"The Lord of the Dead is the only possibility," Chiron said certainly.

"Whoa, wait" Grover cut in, a scrap of aluminum foil dropped from his open mouth. "Wh—what?"

"A Fury came after Percy," Chiron reminded him. "She watched the young man until she was sure of his identity, then tried to kill him. Furies obey only one lord: Hades."

"Yes, but—but Hades hates all heroes," Grover protested. "Especially if he has found out Percy is a son of Poseidon..."

"A hellhound got into the forest," Chiron continued. "Those can only be summoned from the Fields of Punishment, and it had to be summoned by someone within the camp. Hades must have a spy here. He must suspect Poseidon will try to use Percy to clear his name. Hades would very much like to kill this young half-blood before he can take on the quest."

"Great," Percy muttered. "That's two major gods who want to kill me."

"But a quest to ..." Grover swallowed. "I mean, couldn't the master bolt be in some place like Maine? Maine's very nice this time of year."

"Hades sent a minion to steal the master bolt," Chiron insisted. "He hid it in the Underworld, knowing full well that Zeus would blame Poseidon. I don't pretend to understand the Lord of the Dead's motives perfectly, or why he chose this time to start a war, but one thing is certain. Percy must go to the Underworld, find the master bolt, and reveal the truth."

I furrowed my eyebrows. Something didn't make sense about that statement. How would Hades know Percy was a Son of Poseidon if even Zeus didn't know? And even if he did, why would he want to kill Percy? Wasn't Percy his scapegoat?

"Look, if we know it's Hades," Percy told Chiron, "why can't we just tell the other gods? Zeus or Poseidon could go down to the Underworld and bust some heads."

"Suspecting and knowing are not the same," Chiron said. "Besides, even if the other gods suspect Hades—and I imagine Poseidon does—they couldn't retrieve the bolt themselves. Gods cannot cross each other's territories except by invitation. That is another ancient rule. Heroes, on the other hand, have certain privileges. They can go anywhere, challenge anyone, as long as they're bold enough and strong enough to do it. No god can be held responsible for a hero's actions. Why do you think the gods always operate through humans?"

"You're saying I'm being used," Percy stated.

"I'm saying it's no accident Poseidon has claimed you now. It's a very risky gamble, but he's in a desperate situation. He needs you."

Percy leaned back in his chair heavily and sighed. A myriad of emotions passed over his face: confused and angry, but also pride.

I could relate to what he was feeling. It was how I felt every day of my life.

Percy looked at Chiron. "You've known I was Poseidon's son all along, haven't you?"

"I had my suspicions. As I said ... I've spoken to the Oracle, too."

"So let me get this straight," Percy said after a second of contemplation. "I'm supposed go to the Underworld and confront the Lord of the Dead."

"Check," Chiron confirmed.

"Find the most powerful weapon in the universe." Percy added.

"Check," Chiron nodded.

"And get it back to Olympus before the summer solstice, in ten days."

"That's about right."

I had to feel bad for the kid.

Percy looked at Grover, who was munching on a playing card.

"Did I mention that Maine is very nice this time of year?" Grover quivered.

"You don't have to go," Percy told him. "I can't ask that of you."

Grover needed to be on this quest for his searcher's license. He'd told me so the other day. But, he also looked sick just thinking about the Underworld.

"Oh ..." Grover shifted. "No ... it's just that satyrs and underground places ... well..."

Grover took a deep breathe and stood up, pulling himself up to full height. "You saved my life, Percy. If ... if you're serious about wanting me along, I won't let you down."

Percy looked ready to cry out of relief.

"All the way, G-man." Percy said instead. "So where do we go? The Oracle just said to go west."

"The entrance to the Underworld is always in the west. It moves from age to age, just like Olympus. Right now, of course, it's in America." Chiron explained.

"Where?" Percy questioned.

Chiron looked surprised. "I thought that would be obvious enough. The entrance to the Underworld is in Los Angeles."

"Oh," Percy said. "Naturally. So we just get on a plane—"

"No!" Grover jumped. "Percy, what are you thinking? Have you ever been on a plane in your life?"

Percy shook his head, shaken by the sudden burst of shock from Grover.

"Percy, think," Chiron said. "You are the son of the Sea God. Your father's bitterest rival is Zeus, Lord of the Sky. Your mother knew better than to trust you in an airplane. You would be in Zeus's domain. You would never come down again alive."

Lightening blazed. Thunder reverberated.

"Okay," Percy decided. "So, I'll travel overland."

"That's right," Chiron said. "Two companions may accompany you. Grover is one. The other has already volunteered, if you will accept her help."

"Gee," Percy sarcastically said. "Who else would be stupid enough to volunteer for a quest like this?"

He did not just call me stupid. I pulled the cap off and stuffed it into my back pocket, scowling at Percy.

"I've been waiting a long time for a quest, seaweed brain," I crossed my arms. "Athena is no fan of Poseidon, but if you're going to save the world, I'm the best person to keep you from messing up."

"If you do say so yourself," Percy narrowed his eyes. "I suppose you have a plan, wise girl?"

I felt my cheeks color. "Do you want my help or not?"

Percy sighed. "A trio. That'll work."

"Excellent," Chiron clapping his hands together. "This afternoon, we can take you as far as the bus terminal in Manhattan. After that, you are on your own."

Lightning flared. Rain like never before drenched the camp.

"No time to waste," Chiron said. "I think you should all get packing."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I've been thinking. Because this chapter was kinda boring and very dialogue heavy, I might upload another chapter. BUT, I'm not doing it right away. I really want to get the comments up, so if y'all give me at least three comments by Monday, I'll upload the next chapter on Tuesday AND I'll still be uploading on Friday. All I need is three comments.
> 
> Alright, that's it. Hope y'all have a wonderful day and see you next Friday (or Tuesday)! ;)


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annabeth Chase has only ever known Camp Half-Blood. That’s not exactly true, but that’s what it feels like. She wants a way out. And when Percy Jackson stumbles into her home, she knows that’s it. But, with rumors of an impeding war between the gods brewing and her own destiny written, Annabeth is in for more than a simple adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I’m updating early because I got more than three comments last chapter on FanFiction.Net. Hope y’all enjoy this early update!
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter has a flashback which contains some graphic descriptions of an injury.
> 
> Disclaimer: I am not Rick.

I BLOW MY FIRST BUS UP

Chiron gave both me and Percy a canteen of nectar and a bag of ambrosia squares.

“This is only to be used in emergencies,” Chiron warned. “Only if you are seriously hurt. Remember, this is the food and drink of the gods. It may cure any injury but it is lethal to mortals. Too much of it will make you sick. An overdose will kill you.”

Percy nodded in grim understanding.

“What’re you bringing?” Percy asked me as we trudged through the rain to the cabins.

Grover had scampered off ahead of us into the forest.

“Change of clothes,” I started, “and a toothbrush. A book, if I get bored. My knife. And my invisibility cap.” I tapped my pocket.

“Where did you get that?” 

“My mom gave it to me for my twelfth birthday,” I answered. 

“You’ve met your mom?”

“Yes.”

“What was it like?“

I paused, “It felt like I was small and she was big.” 

“Oh.”

“You should go to the camp store,” I said after a beat. “They’ll loan you some money. We’ll need it.”

“Okay,” Percy nodded. “What else?”

“Well,” I continued, “Chiron already gave us the ambrosia and nectar. So, we’re all set when you get that money.”

The rain hammered down on us. I knew he had something else to say, so I waited.

“If—if I fail,” Percy said, “what’ll happen to me?”

“We’re not going to fail,” I said harshly. “You said that the Oracle said you’d ‘retrieve what was stolen and see it safely returned.’”

“I—I know,” Percy stopped. 

“If you’re holding something back,” I threatened, “now’s the time to spill.”

“No,” Percy shook his head a little too quickly. “No, of course not.”

I didn’t push because we had reached cabin three and Percy was already retreating into it.

•••

After packing a backpack, I found Luke in the combat arena. 

“Hey!” I called. 

Luke jumped and turned to me. 

“Want to?” I held up the knife he’d given to me five years ago in Virginia.

“Sure,” he shrugged, twirling his sword. 

We both widened our stance. 

“Heard Percy got a quest,” Luke grunted as he swung his sword down.

“Yep,” I blocked his strike.

“You going?” 

I twisted my knife around his blade, forcing him to stagger, then I kicked his feet out from under him. “Yep.”

I grinned.

“You’re getting better,” Luke said, kneeling. “But you’re still not good enough.”

He hit the back of my knee with the hilt of his sword.

I gasped as I fell.

“And that’s how easy that is,” Luke held out a hand to me.

I groaned and helped myself up, brushing past his hand. “I know how to kill monsters. Why do I need to know how to fight other half-bloods?”

“Come on, Annabeth,” Luke pressed. “You’re going on your first quest. Monsters aren’t the only evils out there. You have to learn how to fight other demigods.”

There was dark undertone to his voice. It was like he knew something and he was holding back.

“What do you mean?” 

Luke sighed. “Nothing. I’m just worried about you.”

“Luke,” I rolled my eyes, “I’m not seven anymore. I know how to take care of myself. You don’t need to worry about me.”

“There’s still so much you don’t know,” he rubbed his forehead. “You trust too easily.”

“Are you calling me naive?”

“No,” Luke said. “I’m saying that you need to be careful.”

“I’m always careful,” I crossed my arms. “It’s called being wise.”

Luke closed his eyes. “You’re too stubborn for your own good.”

I glared at the ground. 

“Alright,” Luke resigned. “You’re leaving in a few minutes. We shouldn’t be mad at each other before you go.”

I looked up as Luke walked over.

“Come on,” he opened his arms.

I sighed before wrapping my arms around his torso. I was a lot shorter than him so my face was buried in his t-shirt. I just hoped that he couldn’t feel my face burning.

“A little advise,” Luke said after a moment. “Don’t be too hard on yourself when you fail.”

I snapped up. “When?”

“What?”

“You said, ‘when you fail’.”

“I meant ‘if’,” Luke quickly amended.

“We’re not going to fail, Luke,” I pulled away. “The prophecy said so.”

“Did you hear the whole prophecy?”

I hesitated. “Of course. Percy told us.”

“Are you sure he’s not lying?”

“Yes!” I gaped, stepping away completely. “I’m going on a quest with this kid! Don’t make me start doubting him before we even leave camp!”

“No,” Luke shook his head. “Of course not. You should trust Percy.”

“I do.” I had a hard time getting the words out. Did I trust Percy? He was obviously hiding something about the prophecy. 

“Good,” Luke nodded.

“I have to go,” I said quietly.

I left before Luke could say anything else that put doubts in my mind.

• • •

Percy and Grover met me at the base of Half-Blood Hill. 

“And where have you been?” Percy asked, annoyedly pushing his dripping hair off his forehead.

“Saying bye to Luke,” I answered, fixing my bag strap on my shoulder uncomfortably .

“Oh, really?” Percy smirked.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Gotta problem with that?” 

Percy shrugged and started up the hill. I groaned and hiked up after him. Chiron and Argus were waiting for us at the top. 

“This is Argus,” Chiron introduced Percy. “He will drive you into the city, and, er, well, keep an eye on things.” I smiled at the unintended pun.

Footsteps were heard behind us. Luke came running up the hill. I thought back to our conversation in the combat arena. A pit of worry seated itself in my gut.

“Hey!” Luke panted. “Glad I caught you. Just wanted to say good luck,” Luke told Percy but then glanced at me. “And I thought ... um, maybe you could use these.”

Luke handed Percy a pair of Converse. It was the pair his dad had given him. 

“Maia!” Luke said. White wings sprung out from the heels. Percy yelped and dropped them.

“Awesome!” Grover exhaled.

Luke smiled. “Those served me well when I was on my quest. Gift from Dad. Of course, I don't use them much these days....” His expression turned sad.

“Hey, man,” Percy flushed embarrassedly. “Thanks.”

“Listen, Percy ...” Luke rubbed the back of his neck. “A lot of hopes are riding on you. So just ... kill some monsters for me, okay?”

I furrowed my eyebrows. Something bothered me about that. Two minutes ago, Luke was telling me not to get my hopes up. Why wasn’t he telling Percy the same thing? 

Luke and Percy shook hands. He patted Grover on the head between his horns. Then he enveloped me in his arms.

I hugged him back, my mind still spinning from the questions and doubts.

“You’re hyperventilating,” Percy nudged me with his elbow after Luke was gone.

“Am not.”

“You let him capture the flag instead of you, didn't you?”

“Oh!” I exclaimed. “Why do I want to go anywhere with you, Percy?”

I stomped down the other side of the hill angrily. Argus was following behind me, but I didn’t care. All I could think about was how red my face probably was and how infuriating Percy could be.

In my haste, I forgot to put a hand on Thalia’s tree.

• • •

Argus drove us out of the countryside. I watched the road intently, on high alert for a monster. Percy was a powerful demigod with a strong scent. My presence just added to it. If there were any monsters near by, they’d attack.

“So far so good,” Percy muttered to me. “Ten miles and not a single monster.”

I shot him an irritated look. “It's bad luck to talk that way, seaweed brain.”

“Remind me again—why do you hate me so much?”

“I don’t hate you.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

I fidgeted with my invisibility cap, folding it down. “Look ... we're just not supposed to get along, okay? Our parents are rivals.” I needed an excuse to not be his friend because not being his friend was the best way to save myself the heartache when he undoubtedly died, as the Prophecy foretold. That was the best one I could think of.

“Why?”

I sighed. “How many reasons do you want? One time my mom caught Poseidon with his girlfriend in Athena's temple, which is hugely disrespectful. Another time, Athena and Poseidon competed to be the patron god for the city of Athens. Your dad created some stupid saltwater spring for his gift. My mom created the olive tree. The people saw that her gift was better, so they named the city after her.”

“They must really like olives.”

“Oh, forget it,” I waved him off.

“Now, if she'd invented pizza—that I could understand.”

“I said, forget it!”

Argus smiled discretely in the front seat and I glared at the eye that winked at Percy. 

The rain started back up and the sun was setting by the time we made it to Manhattan. Argus dropped us off at the Greyhound Station in the Upper East Side. I could tell it made Percy uncomfortable being in this part of town by the way he shifted around shadily. Argus unloaded our bags and made sure we had our bus tickets before heading out. My ears perked up when I heard Grover and Percy talking.

“You want to know why she married him, Percy?” 

“Were you reading my mind or something?” Percy asked.

“Just your emotions. Guess I forgot to tell you satyrs can do that. You were thinking about your mom and your stepdad, right?” There was pause where I assumed Percy nodded. “Your mom married Gabe for you,” Grover told Percy. “You call him 'Smelly,' but you've got no idea. The guy has this aura.... Yuck. I can smell him from here. I can smell traces of him on you, and you haven't been near him for a week.”

“Thanks,” Percy said. “Where’s the nearest shower?”

“You should be grateful, Percy. Your stepfather smells so repulsively human he could mask the presence of any demigod. As soon as I took a whiff inside his Camaro, I knew: Gabe has been covering your scent for years. If you hadn't lived with him every summer, you probably would've been found by monsters a long time ago. Your mom stayed with him to protect you. She was a smart lady. She must've loved you a lot to put up with that guy—if that makes you feel any better.”

From the silence on Percy’s side, it didn’t. It made me jealous of him though. Percy got a mom who loved him enough to protect him from himself. I got a dad who told me the second I asked, not a care in the world for how knowing would affect me. Then, another thought struck me. If Percy’s mom was gone, he’d either have to stay year-round at camp or live with his stepdad. From the way Graver and Percy were talking about him, the stepdad wasn’t a stand-up guy. And Percy didn’t seem sold on the whole staying-year-round-at-camp thing. 

What would happen to him?

We stood outside, waiting for the bus, the rain pouring down on us. Sometime during the wait, our ADHD kicked in and we decided to play Hacky Sack with an apple from Grover’s stash. Percy and I took turns bouncing the apple between our elbows. I was pretty good at it because I used to play with Luke and Thalia all the time. Percy’s fast reflexes helped him with it.

The game ended when Percy tossed it too close to Grover’s mouth. In one gulp, the apple was gone. Grover blushed and tried to apologize. Percy and I were too busy laughing to care though.

Finally, the bus came. As we stood in line to board, Grover started looking around, sniffing the air.

“What is it?” Percy asked.

“I don’t know,” Grover checked over his shoulder. “Maybe it’s nothing.”

But, Percy and I began to look around as well.

When we finally boarded the bus, we stowed our backpacks and found three seats in the back row. I kept my Yankee’s cap on hand because Grover’s nose was usually always right.

I checked the door when the last of the passengers got on. “Percy,” I clapped my hand over his knee. The leathery skin, claw-like hands, and black eyes were too familiar. The Kindly Ones. 

An onslaught of memories rushed through my thoughts. Memories I didn’t even know I still had. My chest felt like it was constricting and my airways closed up. Tears pricked at my eyes as a film of the first time a Fury had attacked us played in my mind. A ribbon of fire reaching for Thalia. A split second decision as I pushed her out of the way. The terrifying, paralyzing smell of burnt flesh. The realization that it was my own. The sight of Luke—through my blurry vision as I hung on to consciousness—simultaneously fighting the monster off and asking Thalia about my condition. The cries of Thalia answering as she ripped open my shirt to find the wound wrapped around my torso.

I dug my nails into my palms to bring myself back.

The three grandmas from hell sat down right behind the driver. The two in the aisle seats crossed their legs over the walkway. A casual gesture that suggested nothing harmful to any unsuspecting mortals. But Percy and I knew better.

“She didn’t stay dead long,” Percy whispered. “I thought you said they could be dispelled for a lifetime.”

“I said if you’re lucky,” I whispered back. “You’re obviously not.”

“All three of them,” Grover whimpered. “Di immortales!”

“It’s okay,” I took a deep breath, dispelling any unpleasant memories resurfacing. “The Furies. The three worst monsters from the Underworld. No problem. No problem. We'll just slip out the windows.”

“They won’t open,” Grover helpfully put in.

“A back exit?” I suggested hopefully.

Percy shook his head. I knew it was a long shot anyway.

“They won’t attack us with witnesses around,” Percy said. “Will they?” 

“Mortals don't have good eyes,” I reminded Percy. “Their brains can only process what they see through the Mist.”

“They'll see three old ladies killing us, won't they?”

I paused to think. “Hard to say. But we can't count on mortals for help. Maybe an emergency exit in the roof ... ?”

The bus drove into the Lincoln Tunnel. We were plunged into darkness except for the lights down the aisle. 

One of the Kindly Ones stood up. “I need to use the restroom.”

We needed to get off the bus before they got to us.

“So do I,” said the second sister.

The aisle was only big enough for one person at a time.

“So do I,” said the third sister.

Percy needed to complete the quest.

They all started coming down the aisle.

“I’ve got it,” I said. “Percy, take my hat.”

“What?”

“You're the one they want. Turn invisible and go up the aisle. Let them pass you. Maybe you can get to the front and get away.”

“But you guys—“

“There's an outside chance they might not notice us,” I pushed the cap towards him. “You're a son of one of the Big Three. Your smell might be overpowering.”

I knew that I was fooling myself. The Furies would kill us. But I had to prioritize. Percy was the most valuable of us. He needed to get away, not us.

“I can’t just leave you,” Percy put his hand on my cap, stopping me from putting it in his hands, green eyes meeting mine. I knew how he felt. It’s how I felt when Luke dragged me away from Thalia standing tall against an onslaught of monsters. 

“Don’t worry about us,” Grover confidently stared Percy down. “Go!”

I grabbed Percy’s hands and forcefully shoved the cap into them. His frightened eyes found mine once more and I nodded subtly before he disappeared under my Yankee’s cap.

Nervously, I kept watch of the three Furies, slowly moving up toward Grover and I. My knife felt hot in it’s sheathe. I couldn’t draw it because it might’ve attracted the attention of the monsters when they may not have noticed us yet.

The bus was almost out of the Lincoln Tunnel when the Kindly One’s turned on us. They shrieked and wailed hideously while changing form. Bat-like wings stretched from their backs. Their fingers grew into talons. The paisley handbags each one of them had were now fiery whips.

They lashed their whips at Grover and I. “Where is it? Where?”

My mind was aware of everything around me: a simmering nick against my cheek from where the whip had grazed me, the cowering passengers, Grover’s nervous bleating, and the way the Furies were referring to an object and not a person.

“He’s not here!” I yelled, jutting my chin out in triumph. “He’s gone!”

The Furies raised their whips.

I finally pulled my knife out. 

Grover snatched up a tin can, ready to throw it.

Before I could get a good stab in, the bus jerked to the right. The Furies squawked as they were launched in the air and slammed against the window. 

I took that time to look at what was happening in the front of the bus. The driver was wrestling for the wheel with invisible hands. The bus smashed against the side of the tunnel and Grover and I were thrown onto to each other.

I managed to stumble to my feet, getting ready for when the Furies would inevitability regain their balance.

The driver had managed to find an exit and veered off the highway. We plummeted down a road in rural New Jersey. It was kind of unbelievable that just across the river was one of the world’s most populated city when all the eyes could see was greenery.

My instincts braced me for impact when I caught a glimpse of where we were headed: the Hudson River.

Suddenly, the bus halted. The tires squealed and burned on the asphalt as the bus spun in a circle and crashed into the trees. The sudden stop had me tumbling to the floor of the bus. I narrowly avoided hitting my face on any of the seats as I went down.

The doors flew open and I quickly crawled into one of the seats before any of the panicked passengers could stampede over me.

From the corner of my eye, I saw the the Kindly Ones coming at me with their whips. As quickly as I could, my knife was in my hand and I was slashing it in front of me against the lashes coming down on me. 

I yelled in Ancient Greek for them to back off. 

Grover was throwing tin cans.

“Hey!”

The five of us froze. We all turned to Percy, who was pulling my cap off his head and letting it fall to the floor. 

My eyes found the doors wide open, the perfect escape.

Go! I wanted to scream. 

But Percy stayed.

And the Furies advanced on him.

Grover and I followed behind them quietly, looking for an opening.

“Perseus Jackson,” one of the sisters hissed. ”You have offended the gods. You shall die."

“I liked you better as a math teacher,” Percy answered to her threat. He took out a ballpoint pen from his pocket and uncapped it. A shimmering, doubled-edged sword elongated. I recognized it from the stories: Anaklusmos.

The Furies hesitated before the same one spoke again. 

“Submit now. And you will not suffer eternal torment.”

“Nice try,” Percy told her.

I noticed the twitch of her hand. “Percy, look out!” I shouted, moving forward to intervene.

The Fury brought the whip down before I could do anything though and caught Percy’s sword hand while the others lunged at him from both sides.

Percy slammed the hilt of his sword into the Fury to his left. He turned and sliced open the Fury to right. I took my chance and jumped onto the only other Fury’s back. Grover grabbed the whip out of her hands.

“Ow!” he yelled. “Ow! Hot! Hot!”

Percy sent the Fury to his left back to Tartarus.

Meanwhile, I held Percy’s former math teacher in a wrestler’s hold. She clawed at my arm and tore through the muscles but I kept my hold until Grover had her legs tied by her own whip. I launched myself over her and landed next to Grover. Together, we shoved her down onto the floor of the aisle.

“Zeus will destroy you!” she promised. “Hades will have your soul!”

“Braccas meas vescimini!” Percy shouted.

I felt a swell of pride. I wasn’t too bad of a tutor.

A surge of electricity cackled in the air. The hair on the back of my neck stood.

“Get out!” I yelled at Percy. “Now!” With all my strength, I dragged Grover through the aisle because he hadn’t gotten up fast enough and pushed Percy out of the bus. 

He tumbled down the steps.

I didn’t have time to apologize because I jumped out with Grover right behind me. 

Outside was more chaos than inside. Passengers were wandering around in a daze, arguing with the driver, and screaming. One tourist snapped a picture of Percy before he could recap his sword.

“Our bags!” Grover realized. “We left our—“

His voice was drowned out by an explosion. To be more specific, the bus exploding.

I pulled Percy and Grover to the ground to take cover from the flying glass and metal, my hands coming to shove both their heads down. I felt someone’s hand on my own head, protecting it. 

“Run!” I yelled after I heard the wail from inside the bus. “She’s calling for reinforcements! We have to get out of here!”

We ran into the woods, the bus in flames behind us.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! So, the quest has officially started! I'm really excited because the story does not slow down at all from here on out.
> 
> I hope y'all enjoyed this early update! Please comment! AND have a great week!
> 
> See you on Friday! :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annabeth Chase has only ever known Camp Half-Blood. That’s not exactly true, but that’s what it feels like. She wants a way out. And when Percy Jackson stumbles into her home, she knows that’s it. But, with rumors of an impeding war between the gods brewing and her own destiny written, Annabeth is in for more than a simple adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUYS! Today is *drumroll please* my Islamic birthday! I am (Islamically) eighteen! AND TODAY WAS MY LAST DAY OF HIGH SCHOOL! I am officially a College Girl. Feels good.
> 
> Alright! Onto the chapter!
> 
> Dislclaimer: I'm not Rick y'all.

POSEIDON ALMOST GETS US KILLED

Grover was braying again. “Three Kindly Ones. All three of them.” He had repeated that statement at least twenty times. I’d counted.

I hadn’t given myself time to comprehend the explosion or the fight. If I had, I would probably be going crazy. I’d been compartmentalizing since I was seven and homeless on the streets of Richmond, Virginia. So, moving on from this wasn’t a big deal. 

It seemed though, that Percy and Grover hadn’t gotten the memo. 

“Come on!” I urged, grabbing Percy and Grover. “The farther away we get, the better.”

“All our money was back there. Our food and clothes. Everything.”

I didn’t need Percy to remind me of that. I already knew.

“Well, maybe if you hadn't decided to jump into the fight—“

“What did you want me to do? Let you get killed?”

“You didn't need to protect me, Percy. I would've been fine.”

“Sliced like sandwich bread,” Grover put in, “but fine.”

“Shut up, goat boy,” I glared at him as best I could through the harsh rain. 

“Tin cans ... a perfectly good bag of tin cans.” Grover shivered.

After a few minutes of walking in terrible silence, I fell in line beside Percy. “Look, I..." My voice faltered. "I appreciate your coming back for us, okay? That was really brave."

“We’re a team, right?” he shifted uncomfortably.

It was silent for a few more steps. “It's just that if you died ... aside from the fact that it would really suck for you, it would mean the quest was over. This may be my only chance to see the real world.”

The rain slowed to a drizzle. We were so far into the woods that the city glow had faded. It was so dark that I couldn’t even make out Percy’s silhouette even though he was right next to me. 

“You haven't left Camp Half-Blood since you were seven?” he asked me.

“No ...” I shook my head, “only short field trips. My dad—“

“The history professor.”

“Yeah,” I confirmed, nodding. “It didn't work out for me living at home. I mean, Camp Half-Blood is my home. At camp you train and train. And that's all cool and everything, but the real world is where the monsters are. That's where you learn whether you're any good or not.”

Luke and Thalia had protected me when I’d been seven. Athena had guided me. Grover had watched over me. Then I got to camp and Chiron doted on me. My training had never been useful. I always had someone defending me, fighting my fights. I wanted to know if I was any good by myself, without help. 

“You're pretty good with that knife,” Percy interjected my inner rant.

“You think so?”

“Anybody who can piggyback ride a Fury is okay by me.”

A wide smile spread across my face. 

“You know,” I started, remembering an incident on the bus that confused me, “maybe I should tell you ... Something funny back on the bus ...”

I was interrupted by a shrill pitch.

“Hey, my reed pipes still work!” Grover cried. “If I could just remember a 'find path' song, we could get out of these woods!”

Grover had been trying to remember songs for his reed pipes since we met. So far, no luck.

After a lot of cursing and tripping (mostly Percy), I caught a glimpse of a neon glow coming from a sign. An aroma of greasy food wafted through the air. My stomach tumbled over in excitement. I hadn’t eaten anything like that since I was seven. Camp only served up healthy foods. Suddenly, I found myself craving a cheeseburger.

We kept walking until we stumbled onto a two-lane road. Stretched out in front of us was something straight out of a horror film. A closed down gas station, a hanging billboard of a 1990s movie, and one open business (the source of the neon light and amazing smell).

The sign above the gate read something like this: ATNYU MES GDERAN GOMEN MEPROUIM.

“What the heck does that say?” Percy asked.

“I don’t know,” I answered, squinting at the bright sign.

“Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium,” Grover translated.

I eyed the life sized garden gnomes, smiling and waving. 

Percy crossed the street, heading for the shop.

“Hey ...” Grover warned.

“The lights are on inside,” I followed Percy. “Maybe it's open.”

“Snack bar,” Percy wistfully said.

“Snack bar,” I agreed, nodding.

“Are you two crazy?” Grover demanded but cantering after us. “This place is weird.”

I had to agree. 

The front lot was a jungle of life like statutes: animals, people, even a satyr with reed pipes.

“Bla-ha-ha,” Grover bleated, scooting away from it nervously. “Looks like my Uncle Ferdinand!”

We stopped in front of the door.

“Don’t knock!” Grover pleaded. “I smell monsters!”

A nagging voice in my head was also running around, telling me that something was off. But I was hungry and that primal instinct was taking over.

“Your nose is clogged up from the Furies,” I told him. “All I smell is burgers. Aren't you hungry?”

“Meat!” Grover scorned. “I’m a vegetarian.”

“You eat cheese enchiladas and aluminum cans,” Percy raised his eyebrows.

“Those are vegetables. Come on. Let's leave. These statues are ... looking at me.”

Before we could though, the door croaked open. A tall woman, cloaked in a black gown and her head covered in a black veil, stood before us regally. Her eyes shown throw the headdress.

“Children, it is too late to be out all alone. Where are your parents?” Her accent sounded vaguely Greek.

“They’re ... um ...” I tried to come up with something plausible.

“We’re orphans,” Percy intercepted, putting on the big-sad-green eyes thing. He kinda looked like a baby seal. 

“Orphans?” the lady said, astonished. “But, my dears! Surely not!”

“We got separated from our caravan,” Percy took the lie further. “Our circus caravan. The ringmaster told us to meet him at the gas station if we got lost, but he may have forgotten, or maybe he meant a different gas station. Anyway, we're lost. Is that food I smell?”

“Oh, my dears,” the woman said. “You must come in, poor children. I am Aunty Em. Go straight through to the back of the warehouse, please. There is a dining area.”

“Circus caravan?” I muttered to Percy as we headed inside.

“Always have a strategy, right?” he whispered back to me.

“You’re head is full of kelp,” I rolled my eyes but smiled.

We walked past more statues. There were so many that the whole warehouse was packed to the brim with the things. Percy, Grover and I spent most of our time getting to the back of the warehouse by ducking under and around stone arms and legs.

“Please, sit down,” Aunty Em gestured to the steel picnic tables out front.

“Awesome,” Percy bounded over to one of them and made himself comfortable.

“Um,” Grover sat down on the edge of the bench, next to Percy, “we don't have any money, ma'am.”

Percy glared at Grover annoyedly.

“No, no, children,” Aunty Em brought a hand up. “No money. This is a special case, yes? It is my treat, for such nice orphans.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” I said sincerely and went to sit on the other side of Percy.

“Quite all right, Annabeth,” Aunty Em said after a beat of stiffness. “You have such beautiful gray eyes, child.” Only after did I question how she had known my name when we hadn’t introduced ourselves.

Aunty Em went behind the counter to cook.

Percy and I conversed lightly and occasionally bantered while Grover looked around nervously.

“What’s that hissing noise?” Grover asked after Aunty Em had sat down across from us.

I shook my head, not hearing anything.

“Hissing?” Aunty Em asked innocently. “Perhaps you hear the deep-fryer oil. You have keen ears, Grover.”

“I take vitamins,” Grover responded automatically. “For my ears.”

“That’s admirable,” she commended. “But please, relax.”

Aunty Em didn’t eat. Her black headdress was spotless, even though she’d been cooking with oil. She leaned forward on her elbows and interlaced her fingers while watching us eat. More specifically, she watched Percy eat. I didn’t know how he could inhale his food like he was without feeling, at least, creeped out by the woman.

“So,” Percy leaned back like he going to take a nap when he had finished his food, “you sell gnomes.”

I rolled my eyes. Thank you for clarifying that for us, Captain Obvious, I thought, but I think the twenty billion statues out in the warehouse convinced us enough.

“Oh, yes,” Aunty Em responded. “And animals. And people. Anything for the garden. Custom orders. Statuary is very popular, you know.”

“A lot of business on this road?” Percy asked.

“Not so much, no. Since the highway was built... most cars, they do not go this way now. I must cherish every customer I get.”

I continued to drink my milkshake. It tasted much better than my dad’s but I still preferred his. 

“Ah,” Aunty Em said glumly. “You notice some of my creations do not turn out well. They are marred. They do not sell. The face is the hardest to get right. Always the face.” 

I looked up and saw Percy staring at a particularly frightening statue behind him. It was of a little girl. She had an Easter basket in her arms. Her dress was one that a child would wear to church in the ‘50s. Her hair was made into pigtails. But her face is what ruined the image of innocence: wide, terrified eyes and mouth agape in horror. It was shockingly haunting.

Something was wrong.

“You make these yourself?” Percy asked.

I was becoming aware of the haziness that was affecting me. Slowly, it was clearing and the alarm bells were ringing in my mind again.

“Oh, yes. Once upon a time, I had two sisters to help me in the business, but they have passed on, and Aunty Em is alone. I have only my statues. This is why I make them, you see. They are my company.”

I put my milkshake down. “Two sisters?” Suddenly, the statutes and the headdress and the suspicious hissing Grover had been talking about before made sense to me. 

“It's a terrible story,” Aunty Em said. “Not one for children, really. You see, Annabeth, a bad woman was jealous of me, long ago, when I was young. I had a... a boyfriend, you know, and this bad woman was determined to break us apart. She caused a terrible accident. My sisters stayed by me. They shared my bad fortune as long as they could, but eventually they passed on. They faded away. I alone have survived, but at a price. Such a price.”

Percy was falling into me, eyelids heavy. He looked ready to pass out right on the table.

“Percy,” I shook his arm, keeping my eyes trained on Aunty Em. “Maybe we should go. I mean, the ringmaster will be waiting.”

I glanced at Grover, who was chewing the wax paper anxiously. Aunty Em wasn’t paying attention to him though. She was facing me directly.

“Such beautiful gray eyes,” Aunty Em told me again. “My, yes, it has been a long time since I've seen gray eyes like those.”

She reached out with a manicured hand as if she was going to stroke my cheek, but I stood up abruptly, startling Percy.

“We really should go,” I had Percy’s upper arm in my hand and was pulling him out of his seat.

“Yes!” Grover jumped up. “The ringmaster’s waiting!” He was tugging on Percy’s other sleeve.

“Please, dears,” Aunty Em pleaded. “I so rarely get to be with children. Before you go, won't you at least sit for a pose?”

“A pose?” I looked at Grover helplessly.

“A photograph. I will use it to model a new statue set. Children are so popular, you see. Everyone loves children.”

I shifted from side to side, still pulling on Percy’s arm. “I don’t think we can, ma’am. Come on, Percy—“

“Sure we can,” Percy snatched his arm out of my hand. “It's just a photo, Annabeth. What's the harm?”

“Yes, Annabeth,” Aunty Em purred. “No harm.”

I didn’t want Aunty Em to know that I was onto her before we had a sure chance of escape. If I voiced my suspicions to Percy, I’d tip her off. So, I let her direct us through the warehouse to the front garden. 

Aunty Em guided us to a park bench next the satyr. “Now," she said, "I'll just position you correctly. The young girl in the middle, I think, and the two young gentlemen on either side.”

She pushed me down onto the bench roughly.

My fear mounted when Percy and Grover squished in next to me. I felt caged in by their bodies. 

“Not much light for a photo,” Percy offhandedly remarked.

“Oh, enough,” Aunty Em said. “Enough for us to see each other, yes?”

“Where’s your camera?” Grover asked.

Aunty Em stepped back, as if she was admiring the frame. “Now, the face is the most difficult. Can you smile for me please, everyone? A large smile?”

I plastered a nervous smile on my face.

“That sure does look like Uncle Ferdinand,” Grover glanced at the satyr next to him.

“Grover, look this way, dear,” Aunty Em reminded him.

She still didn’t have a camera.

“Percy,” I gritted through my teeth.

“I will just be a moment,” Aunty Em said. “You know, I can't see you very well in this cursed veil....”

“Percy,” I said more urgently, “something’s wrong.”

“Wrong?” Aunty Em asked, reaching up to undo the wrap around her head. “Not at all, dear. I have such noble company tonight. What could be wrong?”

“That is Uncle Ferdinand!” Grover yelled.

“Look away from her!” I shouted and whipped my Yankee’s cap onto my head. I pushed Percy and Grover away from me. They hit the ground with a thud.

I scrambled away in a direction, checking behind me to see if Percy was still sprawled at Medusa’s feet. 

He was.

His eyes were trailing up her figure.

Panic rose in my throat. “No! Don’t!”

“Run!” Grover brayed. He raced across the lawn yelling, “Maia!” to activate his flying shoes.

I kept my eyes closed and hid behind a statue, listening to the hisses of the snakes and Medusa’s slippery voice, trying not to hyperventilate.

“Such a pity to destroy a handsome, young face,” she hissed. “Stay with me, Percy. All you have to do is look up.”

I chanced a peak at the scene and saw Percy fighting to keep his eyes trained anywhere but on Medusa’s face.

“The Gray-Eyed One did this to me, Percy,” Medusa soothingly said. “Annabeth's mother, the cursed Athena, turned me from a beautiful woman into this.”

“Don’t listen to her!” I shouted. “Run, Percy!”

“Silence!” Medusa snarled. Then her voice grew calm. “You see why I must destroy the girl, Percy. She is my enemy's daughter. I shall crush her statue to dust. But you, dear Percy, you need not suffer.”

“No,” I heard Percy mutter.

“Do you really want to help the gods?” Medusa asked. “Do you understand what awaits you on this foolish quest, Percy? What will happen if you reach the Underworld? Do not be a pawn of the Olympians, my dear. You would be better off as a statue. Less pain. Less pain.”

“Percy!” Above me, Grover flew in. He was carrying a tree branch the size of a golf club. His eyes were shut tight and his nose and ears were twitching. “Duck!”

Percy turned around to see what was going on. 

“Duck!” Grover yelled again. “I’ll get her!”

Any other day, I would have seriously doubted that Grover could do it. But, out of sheer luck, Grover had the branch at an angle that was perfect to whack a monster. 

Apparently, Percy wasn’t quite as good at angle measurement as I was, so he listened to Grover and dove to one side.

A wail of rage pierced the night after Grover nailed Medusa over the head with his tree branch. I felt like cheering for the guy, but I had a lot going on so I decided I’d give him congratulations later.

“You miserable satyr!” she screeched. “I'll add you to my collection!”

“That was for Uncle Ferdinand!” Grover yelled back.

I heard Percy scramble into the statuary and followed the sound. 

“Percy!” I bumped into him.

He jumped four feet in the air. “Jeez! Don’t do that!”

I took off my Yankee’s cap. “You have to cut off her head.”

“What? Are you crazy? Let's get out of here.”

“Medusa is a menace. She's evil. I'd kill her myself, but ...” I swallowed. I didn’t want to admit that my knife wasn’t the best. “But you've got the better weapon. Besides, I'd never get close to her. She'd slice me to bits because of my mother. You—you've got a chance.”

“What? I can’t—“

“Look, do you want her turning more innocent people into statues?”

I pointed to a pair of statue lovers, a man and woman holding each other in fright. He followed my finger and stared sadly before turning back to me and shaking his head. I grinned and grabbed a green gazing ball from a pedestal. “A polished shield would be better.” I studied the sphere critically. “The convexity will cause some distortion. The reflection's size should be off by a factor of—“

“Would you speak English?”

“I am!” I tossed him the ball. “Just look at her in the glass. Never look at her directly.”

“Hey, guys!” Grover yelled somewhere above us. “I think she’s unconscious!”

A roar was then heard.

“Maybe not,” Grover corrected. He went in for another pass with the tree branch.

“Hurry,” I told Percy. “Grover's got a great nose, but he'll eventually crash.”

Percy took out his pen and uncapped it like he had in the bus. Anaklusmos—Riptide—elongated into his hand. He gave me a wary look, held up the glass ball and began to follow the hisses of Medusa’s snakes.

I heard Grover spin out of control and crash into a statue. 

“Hey!” Percy’s voice rang through the statuary.

There was a long pause in which I assumed Percy advanced on Medusa.

“You wouldn't harm an old woman, Percy,” Medusa crooned. “I know you wouldn't.”

I could hear Percy hesitating. 

“Percy, don’t listen to her!” Grover yelled from somewhere.

“Too late!” Medusa snarled.

A rip through the air suggested that she had lunged at Percy.

I squeezed my eyes tightly shut and whispered a prayer to my mother.

The sound of a sword slashing through the air whistled and was followed by the distinct squish of a head coming clean off a body. 

“Oh, yuck,” Grover said. We both heard the gurgling. “Mega-yuck.”

I tilted my head up and opened my eyes. The black sky was the only thing in my field of vision. In my mind, I envisioned where Medusa was standing when she was going to turn us to stone. My arms were stretched out in front of me to feel around. I navigated myself to the spot and felt around the area with my foot. It finally caught onto what I thought was Medusa’s headdress. 

After I picked it up, I blindly walked to where Percy was not far in front of me. “Don’t move.” 

Carefully, without looking down, I knelt and wrapped the monsters head in the black cloth. Then, I picked it up and stood. 

My knees felt wet from the ooze that I had knelt in. 

“Are you okay?” I asked Percy shakily, finally looking straight at him.

“Yeah,” he looked ready to throw up at the sight of the green slime everywhere. “Why didn't ... why didn't the head evaporate?”

“Once you sever it, it becomes a spoil of war,” I said. “Same as your minotaur horn. But don't unwrap the head. It can still petrify you.”

Grover moaned and slipped down from where he had landed. He had a red sore on his forehead. His rasta cap was hanging from one of his baby horns and his fake feet had knocked off. Luke’s shoes were fluttering around his head.

“The Red Baron,” Percy congratulated him. “Good job, man.”

Grover grinned shyly. “That really was not fun, though. Well, the hitting-her-with-a-stick part, that was fun. But crashing into a concrete bear? Not fun.”

The three of us got ourselves together and then dragged ourselves back to the warehouse.

“So,” Percy said after we had wrapped Medusa’s head a third time in some plastic bags, “we have Athena to thank for this monster?”

I glared at him. “Your dad, actually. Don't you remember? Medusa was Poseidon's girlfriend. They decided to meet in my mother's temple. That's why Athena turned her into a monster. Medusa and her two sisters who had helped her get into the temple, they became the three gorgons. That's why Medusa wanted to slice me up, but she wanted to preserve you as a nice statue. She's still sweet on your dad. You probably reminded her of him.”

His face burned red. “Oh, so now it's my fault we met Medusa.”

I straightened and imitated Percy. “‘It's just a photo, Annabeth. What's the harm?’”

“Forget it,” Percy waved me off. “You’re impossible.”

“You’re insufferable.”

“You’re—“

“Hey!” Grover interrupted. “You two are giving me a migraine, and satyrs don't even get migraines. What are we going to do with the head?”

Percy looked at the bundle critically. He got up. “I’ll be back.”

“Percy,” I called after him. “What are you—he’s doing something stupid, isn’t he?” I turned to Grover who shrugged.

“Count on it,” he sighed.

We sat there for a minute, waiting for Percy before deciding that he’d be a while.

“You know,” I started after having a minute to gather my thoughts. “Something happened on the bus. Something weird with the Furies.”

“I know,” Grover nodded. “I don’t think they were talking about Percy.”

“Something else is going on,” I concluded. “I just have to figure it out.”

We finished our conversation as Percy came back with a cardboard box in his hands. Grover and I stood up to see what he was writing on the delivery slip.

The Gods  
Mount Olympus  
600th Floor, Empire State Building  
New York, NY  
With best wishes,  
PERCY JACKSON

“They're not going to like that,” Grover warned. “They'll think you're impertinent.”

Percy poured some golden drachmas in the pouch. As soon as he closed it, the package floated off the table and disappeared. 

“I am impertinent,” he declared.

He sent me a look, daring me to criticize.

I didn’t. He’d already done it. I didn’t want to waste my breathe on chastising him for something that he knew he shouldn’t have done. “Come on,” I looked away. “We need a new plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I was writing this, I realized how many times these kids ran into trouble. Like, damn. Almost every chapter, they've got something going on.
> 
> Anyway, now that summer is here, I'm gonna get a lot more busy. Graduation is fast approaching and I'm starting uni in the summer so my schedule is packed. Telling all this to you guys is my way of saying I might not be able to get chapters out as often as I am now. BUT NEVER FEAR. I will finish this story. Unless something drastic stops me, but we won't talk about that.
> 
> See you guys next Friday! :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annabeth Chase has only ever known Camp Half-Blood. That’s not exactly true, but that’s what it feels like. She wants a way out. And when Percy Jackson stumbles into her home, she knows that’s it. But, with rumors of an impeding war between the gods brewing and her own destiny written, Annabeth is in for more than a simple adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this has been an emotional week. I'm graduating next week and have been doing the whole goodbye thing, so it's been... what it's been. Plus, George Floyd was murdered and I'm just really angry at the world.
> 
> I'm not as happy with this chapter. But, it is what it is.
> 
> Disclaimer: Not Rick.

DREAMS REALLY, REALLY SUCK

We couldn’t stay at the warehouse.

That was one thing Percy and I could agree on. Grover had been quick to agree as well. The statues were creepy enough. But, knowing all the crazy stuff that went down in this place didn’t sit right with any of us. We decided to take a couple of blankets and some food along with cash and golden drachmas. 

After hauling our loot out, we found a clearing in the woods. It was apparent that some older kids had used it for their parties because there were crushed cups lying around and a few other objects that I didn’t really want to think about.

Percy wanted to light a fire to dry our clothes, but I advised against it. We didn’t want anymore unwanted company finding us. He had just nodded without a word to me.

“I’ll take first watch,” Percy volunteered. 

I would have argued but I was already dozing off sitting up. Quietly, I wrapped myself in a musty blanket and was asleep before my head hit the ground.

In my dreams, I stood in a cavern. I couldn’t see two inches ahead because gray mist swirled around me in tormenting howls: spirits of the dead. 

A golden glow brought my eyes down to my hand where my knife was. I raised it up in front of me to light the way. Slowly, I walked forward and stumbled over. Black, writhing creatures wound around my ankles and rooted me to the ground. I tried to use my blade to cut them away, but they just grew back thicker.

“Annabeth!”

I whipped up. Using my dagger, I slashed it in front of me and the gray mist recoiled. They hissed but didn’t come near my knife again.

Looking forward, I felt dizzy. Five feet away, the cavern floor dropped off a cliff into a pit. From where I was standing, it seemed to be never ending.

My heart dropped to my stomach; this was Tartarus.

But, that’s not what made me feel like vomiting. It was the fact that Luke was clawing at the cavern floor while the rest of his body seemed to be thrown over the cliff. It was as if someone was pulling him in.

“Annabeth!” he shouted, red with effort. “Help me!”

“Luke!” I yelled, but my mouth felt like it was being sewn shut and I couldn’t get the words out fast enough. 

“Annabeth!” 

I scratched at the bonds at my feet, trying to get free. My knife had clattered away.

Something flashed by me. 

I looked up and saw Percy running towards Luke with my knife in his hand.

“Help him!” I pleaded, my mouth still heavy. I didn’t think he heard me.

I watched as Percy fought with my knife against invisible forces at the pit’s edge. He didn’t seem to notice Luke’s struggle to get out of the pit.

“Percy!” I screamed, knowing that it was useless. “Please! He’s right there!”

“Annabeth!”

I gasped as I woke up.

Grover’s face was so close to mine that I squeaked and jumped away.

“Jeez!” I breathed. “What the heck, Grover?”

“Sorry,” he said bashfully. “You were just sleeping so deeply and I had to wake you up for your shift.”

I groaned and dropped my head onto my knees. “How long was I out?”

“About two hours.”

It was still dark. The deep blue of the sky told me that it was around four in the morning.

“Should we wake Percy up?” Grover looked over at him.

Percy was curled up in his blankets. He didn’t look particularly comfortable, but he was drooling, so I assumed he was pretty deep asleep. His face was creased and his hair was falling into his face. 

“Nah,” I rubbed my eyes. “Let him sleep. We can afford a few hours.”

Grover looked at me oddly. “What’s up? You always stick to the plan. This is not in the plan.”

I sighed. “I had a dream. And I need some time to ... process it.”

“What was it about?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Okay,” Grover stood up, knowing that I wouldn’t answer no matter how hard he pressed. “I’m going exploring.”

I nodded. “Be careful.”

He gave me a wave and picked up his reed pipes.

When he disappeared into the woods, I laid back down. Instead of falling asleep, I tried to make out some of the constellations. The pollution was so thick though that the only visible one was the Big Dipper. I kept my eyes on the North Star. 

My hands itched to grab a coin and send an Iris message to Luke. But, I couldn’t because it was still dark and I wouldn’t be able to later because Percy and Grover would be around. 

What would I say to him anyway? 

Oh, yeah. I had this dream that you fell into a bottomless pit and ... well, I just wanted to see if you were okay.

That’d go over well. Demigod dreams weren’t just dreams. They almost always foretold the future, or some version of it. Telling Luke could have been more detrimental than keeping it to myself. 

Or it could have already happened.

I shook the thought away. Percy was also in that dream. Whatever I had seen, he was part of it. My eyes found his sleeping face again.

His brow was scrunched, stress lines apparent. Sweat beaded his face. Dark circles bruised under his eyes. His lips were moving, almost as if he was whispering something. It was clear he was having a nightmare. 

Poor kid, I thought. My first nightmare, or the first nightmare I could remember, came to me when I was four, after I’d asked my dad where my mom was and he’d told me the truth. I didn’t remember the nightmare exactly, but I remembered the feeling of a stone in my throat, choking me, suffocating the breath out of me. 

I sat up, pulling my eyes away from the sky and towards the darkness of the forest. Feeling for the hilt of my dagger, I breathed a sigh. 

It was going to be a long day. 

•••

Two hours after the sun rose, my patience wore thin. Percy was still flinching in his sleep and we didn’t have time for him to wake up on his own from a nightmare that bad. I made a choice and decided tough love was the way to go. So, I shook the kid until his eyes snapped open.

Then, I wished they hadn’t.

Because they were so full of terror, I had to look away and make a joke to keep myself from remembering my own terrible, terrible nightmares. 

“Well,” I deadpanned, trying to hide the waver in my voice, “the zombie lives.” He groaned from the sudden light exposure, propping himself up on his elbows.

“How long was I asleep?” Percy questioned, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

“Long enough for me to cook breakfast,” I tossed a bag of chips back to him. It hit him against the side of his head. I grinned. “And Grover went exploring,” adding that piece of information was important for the next bit I was about include. “Look, he found a friend.” 

Percy squinted at Grover, who was holding a pink poodle in his arms as one would a baby. A small smile slipped across my face when he yapped at Percy, face scrunched in suspicion.

“No, he’s not,” Grover scolded the dog.

“Are you ... talking to that thing?”

I was offended. How can one simply call a dog ‘thing’? It seemed that Gladiola was as well because he growled at him.

“This thing is our ticket west. Be nice to him.” Grover had a warning tone in his voice that reminded me he was way older than the scrawny twelve year old he depicted. He’d used it with me when I was seven and wouldn’t listen to reason. Percy didn’t seem to detect it that well. He was still hung up on the whole ‘his best friend can talk to poodles’ thing.

“You can talk to animals?” He voiced, looking at me with wide eyes. I smirked. He had a a lot to learn.

“Percy, meet Gladiola. Gladiola, Percy,” Grover said in answer. Percy was still staring at me, probably trying to decipher if we were joking. 

“I’m not saying hello to a pink poodle,” Percy crossed his arms. “Forget it.”

“Percy,” I grit my teeth. “I said hello to the poodle. You say hello to the poodle.” 

He said hello to the poodle.

We filled him in on what Gladiola had told us. How he had courageously run away from his rich family who were offering a $200 reward to anyone who could give him back. That kind of money would get us back on track and in LA before we could say ‘Hollywood’.

Gladiola didn’t particularly want to go back to his family, but he would for Grover. 

“How does Gladiola know about the reward?” Percy asked.

“He read the signs,” Grover stroked Gladiola’s tufts of fur. “Duh.”

“Of course,” Percy nodded sarcastically. “Silly me.”

“So we turn in Gladiola,” I put on my capture-the-flag voice, the one where I sounded commanding and authoritative, “we get money, and we buy tickets to Los Angeles. Simple.” 

"Not another bus," Percy tiredly sighed.

"No," I agreed and pointed downhill, towards the train tracks I’d noticed when the day had broken. “There's an Amtrak station half a mile that way. According to Gladiola, the west-bound train leaves at noon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not really gonna say anything because, as I said, I'm angry and emotional. Just, stay safe out there guys.
> 
> See you next Friday.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annabeth Chase has only ever known Camp Half-Blood. That’s not exactly true, but that’s what it feels like. She wants a way out. And when Percy Jackson stumbles into her home, she knows that’s it. But, with rumors of an impeding war between the gods brewing and her own destiny written, Annabeth is in for more than a simple adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOOOOO, I GRADUATED YESTERDAY! I'm so proud of myself. The end of an era. It felt like these last 12 years have been like a song and graduation was the climax of it. Like the hard piano keys mixed with the heartbreaking, loud vocals in the end of a song that make everything more emotional. Uggggh, I'm so happy. That moment I walked across the stage was so ... indescribable. I couldn't hear anything and I couldn't see the crowd. All I could do was smile under my mask.
> 
> Okay, enough rambling.
> 
> Disclaimer: I am not Rick.

PERCY AND I ARE .... COOL NOW? I DON’T ACTUALLY KNOW WHAT TO THINK WHEN IT COMES TO THIS KID. SOMETIMES HE CAN BE SO FRIGGI—

My brain was not used to being so empty. 

Two days of sitting on this stupid train was not good for my ADHD. Just half an hour into the ride Percy and I were bickering like five year olds. We were close to ripping each other’s throats out by the end of the first day. I kinda felt bad for Grover, who had resorted to pretending to sleep the whole day just to ignore the two of us. But, the only occupying thing to do was to bother each other. So we found ways to fight.

Like right now, Percy was throwing wadded up pieces of paper at me like he was an NBA super star and I was the winning basket.

“Is Jackson going to make it? Oh, oh, oooooh!” he commentated as a ball of paper flew towards my head. 

I caught it without looking up and threw it at him with the power of my mother behind me. It bounced off his forehead. 

He chuckled. “Sorry, I just didn’t want to look at that picture anymore.” 

I knew what he meant. It was a little unnerving seeing his face on that newspaper clipping with that caption. Even though I was confident that the monsters would sniff us out before any police got on our trail, the newspaper was just a reminder that we were alone. No one was going to help us. Not even the mortals.

“Just don’t throw things at me, and we’ll be okay,” I responded. 

“That sounds fair,” he shrugged, leaning his head on the glass as a pillow. It didn’t look comfortable.

“Hey,” I grumbled, “you can use my shoulder.” His face lit up. “But I swear to the gods, if you drool on me, this quest won’t be necessary because I will send you on a one-way trip to the Underworld.” 

“Not a doubt in my mind,” he grinned and rested his head on my shoulder. 

I rolled my eyes and glanced at him humorously before settling back in my seat.

•••

Percy had a fitful sleep. He was muttering and shaking. He almost woke up ten billion times but he always managed to get back to sleep. He awakened for the final time when Grover’s fake foot fell off. Both of held in our snickers and giggles as we fixed it so that no one else would see. 

“So,” I started, side-eying him when we’d calmed down. “Who wants your help?”

Percy looked over at me. “What do you mean?”

“When you were asleep just now, you mumbled, ‘I won't help you,’” I clarified. “Who were you dreaming about?”

A look of realization spun across his face, but he didn’t say anything for a long time, seemingly contemplating whether he should tell me. 

“I don’t know,” Percy began tentatively. “I think I was in the Underworld because there were a bunch of dead ghosts or spirits or whatever around me.” I froze. That sounded suspiciously like where my dream took place. “And there was a pit. But there was no end.” Was it possible for two demigods to have the same dream? 

“Were you alone?” I blurted out. Percy glanced at me, surprised at my sudden outburst. 

“No,” he answered after a second. My heart dropped. “I mean, yes. But no.”

“What?”

“There was a voice,” Percy explained. “It was coming from inside the pit. It kept asking me to help it. It wanted the bolt. And it laughed. A lot.”

I breathed out. It wasn’t the same dream but this still wasn’t good. He was explaining Tartarus. And I had an inkling about who that voice belonged to. A shiver ran up my spine. I pushed the thought away. No, it had to be Hades. It was too soon to not be Hades.

“That doesn't sound like Hades,” I finally said. “He always appears on a black throne, and he never laughs.” 

“He offered my mother in trade. Who else could do that?”

“I guess ... if he meant, ‘Help me rise from the Underworld.’ If he wants war with the Olympians. But why ask you to bring him the master bolt if he already has it?”

Percy shook his head as an answer to my question. 

Grover mumbled something about vegetables and turned over, his hat falling askew. I readjusted it to hide his horns. 

“Percy, you can’t barter with Hades. You know that, right? He's deceitful, heartless, and greedy. I don't care if his Kindly Ones weren't as aggressive this time—“

“This time?” Percy interrupted. “You mean you've run into them before?” 

I remembered the feeling of seeing them again on the bus. The suffocating panic I’d experienced when we’d encountered them. To keep that feeling at bay, I reached for my necklace and rubbed the first bead with my finger. It helped me remember Thalia and her soothing words.

Just breathe with me, Anna-banana. Come on, inhale. Good. Exhale.

“Let’s just say I've got no love for the Lord of the Dead. You can't be tempted to make a deal for your mom.”

“What would you do if it was your dad?”

“That’s easy,” I gritted out. “I’d leave him to rot.”

“You’re not serious?”

My eyes met his disbelieving ones. “My dad’s resented me since the day I was born, Percy,” I stated. “He never wanted a baby. When he got me, he asked Athena to take me back and raise me on Olympus because he was too busy with his work. She wasn’t happy about that. She told him heroes had to be raised by their mortal parent.”

“But how ... I mean, I guess you weren't born in a hospital....”

“I appeared on my father's doorstep, in a golden cradle, carried down from Olympus by Zephyr the West Wind. You’d think my dad would remember that as a miracle, right? Like, maybe he'd take some digital photos or something. But he always talked about my arrival as if it were the most inconvenient thing that had ever happened to him. When I was five he got married and totally forgot about Athena. He got a ‘regular’ mortal wife, and had two ‘regular’ mortal kids, and tried to pretend I didn't exist.” 

Percy looked out the window sourly, as if remembering a bad memory. “My mom married a really awful guy,” he told me. “Grover said she did it to protect me, to hide me in the scent of a human family. Maybe that's what your dad was thinking.”

I knew what Percy’s mom had done for him. And sometimes I wished that was the case with my dad. But, the way Percy spoke about her, I knew she never made him feel unwanted. Not like my dad, who’d treated me like I was a burden rather than a daughter. 

“He doesn’t care about me,” I clenched my hand around my necklace, feeling the press of his college ring in my palm. “His wife—my stepmom—treated me like a freak. She wouldn’t let me play with her children. My dad went along with her. Whenever something dangerous happened—you know, something with monsters—they would both look at me resentfully, like, ‘How dare you put our family at risk.’ Finally, I took the hint. I wasn’t wanted. I ran away.”

“How old were you?”

“Same age as when I started camp. Seven.”

“But ... you couldn't have gotten all the way to Half-Blood Hill by yourself.”

I looked over at Grover’s sleeping form and smiled. “Not alone, no. Athena watched over me, guided me toward help. I made a couple of unexpected friends who took care of me, for a short time, anyway.” 

My gaze traveled to the ground as I remembered Thalia. Her swinging me around. Painting my nails. Laughing when I fell but always picking me up. Cutting my hair when it got too long and tangled. We laughed at how bad it looked. How she could say something that would get Luke out of one of his moods.

I realized that I missed Luke as well.

The Luke who stole small lego sets for me whenever he could. Who would set me on his shoulders for a few minutes and run around, imitating a rocket ship. Who would make up stupid dance moves to get me to laugh. Who would tell me scary stories that always ended funny. The Luke from before.

I rested my head against the seat. With the train’s soothing hum and my own wandering thoughts, I nodded off to sleep, away from the land of terrifying monsters and dead friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo, what'd y'all think? PERCABETH IS HAPPENING. Kidding, we still have a long way to go before Annabeth starts to realize she's got them feelings for our favorite boy.
> 
> Comment!
> 
> See you next Friday! :)


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annabeth Chase has only ever known Camp Half-Blood. That’s not exactly true, but that’s what it feels like. She wants a way out. And when Percy Jackson stumbles into her home, she knows that’s it. But, with rumors of an impeding war between the gods brewing and her own destiny written, Annabeth is in for more than a simple adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear to all that is Holy, my brain cells are about to explode. I have four papers to write (all two to three pages long, might I add) by the end of this month. I have a quiz over TWO textbook chapters that's due tomorrow and I haven't even staring reading yet. My room's a mess. I haven't showered for three days.
> 
> But you know what, writing makes me happy. Y'all's comments make me happy. I want to be happy.
> 
> So, here we go.
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter contains a panic attack and descriptions of dissociation.
> 
> Disclaimer: I am not Rick.

PERCY DOES SOMETHING STUPID (AGAIN)

I awoke to a face of gold: my hair. It was a mess around me. I groaned and sat up from where my head was resting on Percy's arm. He looked at me as the weight was lifted and laughed at the tangled mass of curls.

"What're you laughing about, Mr My Hair Looks Like A Bird's Nest?" I sent a half hearted glare in his direction as I took out the elastic band that did its job terribly and pulled my hair back, out of my face, to tie it better. Silena was going to have to chop off a good portion of my hair when we got back to camp because it was too tangled for anyone to fix.

"What, this?" Percy carded his fingers through his hair, smirking at me. "This is natural beauty at its finest."

"Okay, Narcissus," I chuckled. "Let's just hope you don't find a pond and whither away admiring your 'natural beauty' before we finish this quest."

"Sure thing," he nodded sarcastically. "I'll just avoid all bodies of water." He gestured to the Mississippi River below us.

"I said pond, not river," I crossed my arms.

"Yes, because the effect would be so different."

"I mean," I shrugged, "have you seen the Mississippi River? I don't think it could reflect anything if it tried."

Percy glanced out the window before nodding solemnly. "You have a point there."

"I always do," I smugly said.

He laughed again and shook his head. I bit my lip to stop myself from smiling too widely.

A flash of silver passed through my peripheral view and I knew exactly what it was. We were in Missouri now, so it had to be the Gateway Arch. I leaned over Percy to look out the window. I always wanted to come here, the biggest monument in American history.

"I want to do that," I breathed, mesmerized.

"What?" Percy raised an eyebrow at me.

I glanced at him, realized that my face was really close to his face, and scrambled back into my own seat. "Build something like that," I cleared my throat. Taking a moment, I collected myself. "You ever see the Parthenon, Percy?"

"Only in pictures," he answered.

"Someday, I'm going to see it in person," I determined. "I'm going to build the greatest monument to the gods, ever. Something that'll last a thousand years." Something my mom would be proud of.

Percy laughed, bringing me out of my thoughts. "You? An architect?"

I felt my face heat up in anger. What was wrong with being me being an architect? "Yes, an architect. Athena expects her children to create things, not just tear them down, like a certain god of earthquakes I could mention."

Percy's mouth slammed shut and he looked away from me.

I fumed silently. He was the one who mocked my aspirations rudely and he got mad when I defended them. He didn't have a right to be upset.

That wasn't fair. I insulted his dad. It was natural to get angry at that.

But what the Hades was his problem? We were just starting to get along and he went and ridiculed me.

It hit me that maybe he wasn't making fun of me, maybe he was just surprised. I wasn't exactly the most patient person. And I definitely didn't exude calm vibes. Imagining me being an architect, drawing silently and sitting in one place for an extended period of time, was a hard feat for anyone except me. Even Chiron had raised an eyebrow when I'd expressed an interest in it.

But, something about Percy questioning my dreams irked me. Maybe it was that he had known me for all of two weeks and he still found some absurdity in them. Or that (and this was hard to even admit to myself), on some level, I wanted him to be impressed. I didn't know why, but it was there.

Either way, it wasn't cool of me to bring up his parentage.

"Sorry," I mumbled, the words feeling foreign in my mouth. "That was mean."

"Can't we work together a little?" Percy stared at me with his big green eyes, almost pleading. "I mean," he sighed exasperatedly, "didn't Athena and Poseidon ever cooperate?"

"I guess..." I took a moment to remember the stories. "The chariot! My mom invented it, but Poseidon created horses out of the crests of waves. So they had to work together to make it complete."

"Then we can cooperate too, right?"

I breathed in sharply and looked down. This was weird for me. I didn't have friends my age. Everyone I'd ever known was older and more interested in taking care of me than necessarily being my friend. Chiron, Luke, Thalia, Silena, and even Grover to some extent. Percy didn't have that problem. He didn't have any obligation to me. He just wanted to ... be my friend. But, he was prophesied to die and I wasn't looking for another dead friend.

For the sake of the quest though, it would be best for us to get along somewhat.

"I suppose," I finally relented.

A slow grin spread across his face and it looked like he was about to say something when the intercom interrupted our moment.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen," a staticky voice come on. "We are in St. Louis, Missouri and will be departing for Denver in three hours."

The volume of the announcement had woken Grover up. He mumbled something about food.

Laughing, I stood up and stretched. "Come on, goat boy," I tapped his shoulder. "Sightseeing."

"Sightseeing?" Grover squinted at me. Percy was also looking very confused.

"The Gateway Arch," I stated, raising my eyebrows at them. They really should know this by now. "This may be my only chance to ride to the top. Are you coming or not?"

Percy and Grover exchanged a look and I rolled my eyes at them.

"Fine," I turned to walk off the train. "You guys stay here and I'll go."

"Wait, wait," I heard Percy's voice call and smirked, looking back at the boys. "We're coming." He looked at Grover who shrugged.

"As long as there's a snack bar without monsters."

I grinned happily and almost clapped in excitement. Going to great monuments of historic value was fun, but it was much more exciting when you had people to share interesting facts with.

Like, for example, the Gateway Arch was designed by architect Eero Saarinen in 1947. It was a 630 foot monument built as a symbol of the expansion of the United States. It was also the tallest arch in the world.

Grover and Percy ate jellybeans as I spoke and trailed behind me. If it wasn't for their intent silence, I would have thought they weren't listening. But, when I looked back at them, they were always staring at me with dopey smiles on their faces and engaged eyes.

I turned back forward and smiled at the ground, biting my lip. It always felt like the kids at camp had something better to do than listen to my ramblings, even Luke. Grover and Percy seemed to want to hear what I had to say.

Pride—the good kind—swelled in my chest.

"Guys," Percy's voice broke through my inner thoughts. "You know the gods' symbols of power?"

I glanced at him through my lashes. "Yeah?"

"Well, Hade—"

Grover coughed violently. "We're in a public place... You mean, our friend downstairs?"

"Um, right," Percy gave Grover a look. "Our friend way downstairs. Doesn't he have a hat like Annabeth's?"

"You mean the Helm of Darkness," I clarified, keeping my voice low. "Yeah, that's his symbol of power. I saw it next to his seat during the winter solstice council meeting." An image of it flashed in front of my eyes and I clenched my fists.

"He was there?" Percy asked.

I nodded. "It's the only time he's allowed to visit Olympus—the darkest day of the year. But his helm is a lot more powerful than my invisibility hat, if what I've heard is true..." I looked away.

"It allows him to become darkness," Grover jumped in, saving me. "He can melt into shadow or pass through walls. He can't be touched, or seen, or heard. And he can radiate fear so intense it can drive you insane or stop your heart. Why do you think all rational creatures fear the dark?"

"But then ... how do we know he's not here right now, watching us?" Percy raised an eyebrow.

Grover and I exchanged glances.

"We don't," Grover shakily said.

"Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better," Percy sarcastically nodded. "Got any blue jelly beans left?"

I kept an eye on him as we got in the elevator. He was shaken, that was for sure. And I didn't think he liked the idea of being in a confined space that went up. Or the heavy-set woman with the odd sense of fashion and strangely aggressive looking little dog who were crammed in there with us. I didn't like it either, but he was showing his nerves more and it was going to make everyone else suspicious.

I put a hand on his elbow and he looked at me confusedly. Shaking my head slightly, I signaled for him to calm down. He breathed out a little and nodded. I smiled a little.

"No parents?" the woman interrupted our moment.

I let go of Percy. "They're below," I fidgeted uncomfortably and stepped slightly in front of Percy, feeling a temporary relief when his shoulder touched mine. "Scared of heights."

"Oh, the poor darlings," Her dog growled up at us. "Now, now, sonny, behave."

A weird feeling jumped in my gut. I usually loved dogs. But, this one gave me bad vibes.

"Sonny," Percy spoke tentatively. "Is that his name?"

"No," the woman smiled down at him.

I noticed Grover's nose twitch and crowded closer to elevator door, gripping one of Percy and Grover's shirt tails in each hand. They seemed to share my feelings of unsettlement because Grover had a hand on my shoulder and Percy was still eyeing the Chihuahua. The three of us were quick to scramble out of the elevator when the doors opened.

As we stumbled onto the observation deck, I forgot my disconcertment and focused on the structural ingenuity I was standing in. This building, this monument, used to be a sketch. A spark of an idea in someone's head. I was standing in someone's idea. The thought of it sent shiver down my spine and I smiled widely. One day, someone would be standing in my ideas.

"Are you sure it's safe for me to be this high up?" Percy whispered to Grover and I. "I mean, we aren't in LA already because we didn't want to anger Zeus by having me in his domain. Aren't we literally in his domain now?"

"You'll be fine," Grover reassured him. "The Arch is built from the ground up, meaning that it's an extension of the ground. Kind of like a skyscraper would be. Zeus won't do anything."

"Come on!" I grabbed Percy and Grover before the former could say anything, pulling them to a window to look out over the city. Everything looked smaller from this high up. Like a scale model of St. Louis. It felt like I could reach down and pick up cars or people like I used to with the toys in the models my dad built. The smile on my face wilted slightly. "I would have made these windows bigger," I said, breathing in sharply to clear my head and distract myself. "Maybe changed the structure of the Arch to support them better."

I caught Percy and Grover looking at each other with amused smiles and I lightly smacked the back of their heads. They both winced and chuckled. I joined in after a second.

"Well," Percy looked at me expectantly, "go on."

I couldn't stop the smile from spreading across my face. "Alright."

I got lost in talking about the schematics and equations that had to go into even beginning to fathom an idea of something like this. Then I moved on to talk about the economic value and motivation for the construction of the Arch. My brain then took me to the symbolic meaning it took on and how it was seen as a monument to the West and the expansion of the United States.

Honestly, I could have gone on for hours. There was just so much to talk about. From the materials they used to the math behind the structure. But, the observation deck guard interrupted my knowledge rant with a five-minute warning.

The ranger had barely finished the sentence before Percy was grabbing my arm and pulling me toward the elevator, Grover following closely behind us.

"Whoa, you okay?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Fine," Percy muttered back. "Just don't want to miss the train."

"Okay," I nodded, taking my arm out of his grip. "But I can walk myself."

"Oh, right. Sorry," Percy flushed.

I stepped onto the elevator, rolling my eyes at his mumblings. Grover trotted in behind me. Percy was about to get in when the ranger stopped him.

"Next car, sir."

I realized that there were too many people in the elevator. "We'll get out," I made to walk off. "We'll wait with you."

"Nah," Percy shook his head, "it's okay. I'll see you guys at the bottom." He smiled at us, but it did nothing to quell the nervous bubbling in my stomach. The doors slid shut before I could get another word out.

"We should've stayed with him," I turned to Grover.

"Percy'll be fine," Grover sounded like he was trying to convince himself. "You saw how he handled the Kindly Ones. And … snake lady." He glanced around at the mortals. None of them had seemed to hear us.

"Yeah, with our help!" I whispered harshly.

"We don't even know if there's any danger," Grover uttered to me as the elevator doors opened and we walked out.

A loud boom crashed over us, shaking the ground. I almost would've gotten knocked off my feet if Grover hadn't grabbed me protectively, shielding me from the stampede of people running about.

"Are you okay?" He yelled over the screaming of the people around us.

"We have to go back up!" I told him, realizing that Percy would still be on the observation deck, making to go back toward the elevator. Grover had a strong hold around me, though. He dragged me out of the lobby as I fought him. I forgot that Grover was actually strong and when he was determined to do something, he would. "No, Grover! What are you doing? We have to help him!"

I felt hysterical. Like everything was collapsing in my chest and I couldn't breathe. It felt like I had been pulled out of my body and was watching myself fight uselessly. I couldn't hear clearly, like there was cotton in my ears. All I could think about was how this was what had happened when Luke had carried me up Half-Blood Hill, away from Thalia, as I cried and screamed for him to go back and help her and how I couldn't lose another person—another friend—the same way.

"He's up there, Grover! We promised we'd protect him and now he's up there and we're not! We have to go back!"

"Annabeth!" Grover held my arms to my side, shaking me slightly. "I promised to protect you, too. And I'm keeping that promise."

"Then protect me from losing another person!" I looked at him through bleary eyes and he enveloped me in a warm hug. "We can't lose another one."

From over his shoulder, I watched the dark smoke billow out the side of the monument I had idealized for its structural strength.

"Grover!" I gasped, pushing him away.

"What?" he exclaimed.

But I wasn't looking at him. I was staring at the person on fire who had just leaped through the smoke and was now hurtling towards the Mississippi River.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Annabeth has finally admitted that Percy's her friend! Twelve chapters in. As I'm writing this, I've realized how much trauma Annabeth truly has and how much that affects her relationships. I hope I'm portraying that well enough for you guys to see.
> 
> Alright, please comment.
> 
> Stay safe out there guys. See you next Friday! : )


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annabeth Chase has only ever known Camp Half-Blood. That’s not exactly true, but that’s what it feels like. She wants a way out. And when Percy Jackson stumbles into her home, she knows that’s it. But, with rumors of an impeding war between the gods brewing and her own destiny written, Annabeth is in for more than a simple adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rewatching Avatar on Netflix for the 3rd time this month because that's what life's about. The Barbie youtube channel has started uploading old Barbie movies. Those movies slap harder than my mom does. I am really living right now.   
> Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson nor am I the Rick Riordan.

I CONTEMPLATE KILLING PERCY FOR THE STUPID THING HE DID

Grover and I pushed ourselves to the front of the crowd where we were stopped because of the police barricade. 

“We have to find another way to the river,” I murmured to Grover.

“Annabeth,” he whispered to me as I began making my way around the perimeter. “How do we even know that was him? And if it was, how would he have survived that fall?”

I sighed heavily. The logical part of my brain said that Percy was dead. Either the explosion took him or that fall crushed him. But, there was a part of me that couldn’t accept that. He had to live until sixteen. So there was no way he was gone, yet. 

Plus, he couldn’t die right after we’d become somewhat okay with each other.

“He’s the son of Poseidon,” I rationalized. “The water would have saved him.” Grover gave me a skeptical look. “Listen,” I said, “I know. The Mississippi isn’t the sea. But, the day Percy was claimed, he was in the creek. He would have died from his injuries if not for that creek. That creek is fresh water.”

“Okay,” Grover breathed exasperatedly. “Let’s start looking for him then.”

The progress was slow. There was no way inside the police perimeter, which extended for miles. People gathered around to see what had happened. A media circus had begun to assemble around the Arch. The onslaught of people made it easier to blend in, but harder to find someone. 

We decided to loop back around and go back towards the Arch to see if Percy had gone back there. Grover and I were making our way through the crowd when I caught a glimpse of messy, black hair.

“Grover!” I tapped his arm, my eyes still trained on the boy. “The back of that head looks awfully like a rat’s nest, doesn’t it?”

Grover didn’t wait to confirm if it was Percy, opting to instead scream his name. The boy whipped around just as Grover reached him and grabbed him a warm hug. “We thought you'd gone to Hades the hard way!”

A surge of relief swept through me, but I kept it at bay, determined to give Percy a piece of my mind. “We can't leave you alone for five minutes!” I stomped towards them. “What happened?”

“I sort of fell,” he bashfully said, staring up at me.

“Percy!” I pushed his shoulder, still angry. “Six hundred and thirty feet?”

“Gangway!” a cop yelled behind us and the three of us jumped out of the way just as a stretcher escorted by two paramedics rushed through the crowd.

A woman was lying on it, talking rapidly. “And then this huge dog, this huge fire-breathing Chihuahua—“

“Okay, ma’am,” a paramedic interrupted her. "Just calm down. Your family is fine. The medication is starting to kick in.”

“I’m not crazy! This boy jumped out of the hole and the monster disappeared." Then her eyes focused on us, specifically Percy. “There he is! That's the boy!”

Percy ducked behind me and Grover, taking our shirts in his hands and pulling us along with him into the crowd.

“What's going on?” I asked, ripping my shirt out of his grip. “Was she talking about the Chihuahua on the elevator?”

“Alright,” Percy shushed me. “Okay, listen. Yes, it was the Chihuahua. But it wasn’t a Chihuahua. It was a Chimera. Or at least, that’s what the lady, or the Echidna, said it was.”

“Oh my gods!” Grover bleated. “The Mother of Monsters! How—how did she even—“

“She said Zeus sent her,” Percy said.

“Holy Hera!” Grover cried. “This is not good. This is really not good.”

“What happened?” I interrupted Grover’s panic spiraling. 

Percy told us the whole story: the Echidna’s threat, the Chihuahua growing into a Chimera, his failed attempt to fight it, the cause of the explosion, and the leap of faith that Grover and I had witnessed him make. 

“When I was in the Mississippi,” Percy’s expression changed, “my dad sent a woman to give me a message. She said to go to Santa Monica beach before we go to the Underworld because my father wished it. I think he has something that’ll help with the quest.” 

“Whoa,” Grover exhaled. “We've got to get you to Santa Monica! You can't ignore a summons from your dad.”

I had to agree with Grover. There would have to be something extremely important at Santa Monica or Poseidon wouldn’t have gone out of his way to get the message to Percy. 

Before I could say anything though, a news reporter standing in front of a van caught our attention. “Percy Jackson. That's right, Dan. Channel Twelve has learned that the boy who may have caused this explosion fits the description of a young man wanted by authorities for a serious New Jersey bus accident three days ago. And the boy is believed to be traveling west. For our viewers at home, here is a photo of Percy Jackson.”

Grover and I stepped in front of Percy and I gestured to an alley behind the van. We discreetly slipped into it.

“First things first,” Percy murmured to us, “we’ve got to get out of town.”

“Here,” I whispered, handing Percy my cap. “Wear this so that no one notices you.”

He nodded and disappeared under it. 

The three of us walked as quickly as we could toward the station, hoping that the train hadn’t left without us. We boarded just in time. I watched the city fade away, the glittering silhouette of the Gateway Arch imprinted upon the horizon.

•••

“Hey, guys,” Grover asked, looking forlornly at the silverware on the table we were sitting at in the dining car that evening, “will anyone notice if I eat this fork?”

Percy and I—who had been engaged in some light bickering before Grover had spoken up—exchanged a look before simultaneously bursting out into a fit of giggles. 

“Just put it in your pocket and wait until we get back to our seats,” I said in between chuckles.

The waiter came with our food after that and we spent the next twenty minutes eating and joking around, trying to forget the implications of Zeus ordering the attack on Percy at the Arch or that we still didn’t know how to get to LA from Denver. Instead, we focused on laughing and threatening food fights and making silly faces at the middle aged women who gave us disapproving looks.

When we got back to our seats, we learned that Grover had indeed taken the fork, as well as the spoon and knife, which prompted another bout of laughter from me and Percy.

As we settled down, Grover was the first to nod off, braying lightly every few seconds. 

I was staring out the window in tiredness, the dark navy of the sky outside soothing me.

“Annabeth,” Percy broke the silence. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I confusedly looked at him. “Why?”

“Oh,” Percy shrugged, glancing down. “Just, I know you really liked the Arch and I’m sorry that I blew it up.”

I smiled at the sentiment. “It wasn’t your fault. Better the Arch than you.”

“Let me guess, because there wouldn’t be any quest without me?” Percy raised his eyebrows.

Surprisingly, I hadn’t thought once about the fate of the quest if Percy really had been gone. The whole time Grover and I looked for him, I had only cared about him being okay, just because I wanted him to be, not for the quest. But, I wasn’t about tell him that.

“Yeah,” I cleared my throat. “The quest.”

“Hey,” he said after a moment, “what do you think’s waiting for me in Santa Monica?”

“Best case scenario, something that helps us with this quest. Worst case scenario, certain death.” 

“That’s basically everywhere we’ve been,” Percy laughed. “I meant: do you think my dad will be there?”

I sighed heavily. “I don’t know, Percy. Maybe. But I wouldn’t get my hopes up.”

He nodded solemnly. “I know it’s wishful thinking. But, he did save me. So, that means he’s listening, right?”

“The gods are always listening. They just choose to ignore us,” I stated. 

“That’s … terrible.”

“Not really,” I assured. “The gods are older than you or I could ever imagine. Their power is so catastrophic and big. They rule over all of western civilization. We are just a blip in their existence. And for us, that may seem sad, but you have to understand that they are not like us. Everything gets easier after you get that.”

Percy looked off, his face thoughtful. 

I turned away, giving him space to process. Even though I had been luckier than most demigods when it came to parental recognition, I’d still had my share of angry feelings towards the gods. Especially when it came to what happened with Luke and Thalia. Chiron had really helped me understand a lot of those feelings and why the gods were the way that they were. 

He didn’t have as much luck with Luke. Maybe it was because he had already harbored so much resentment against his father and the gods—which only grew after Thalia had died and his failed quest—at such a young age that it was impossible to reverse. 

I leaned my head back against the seat and closed my eyes. Today had been tiring. This quest was bringing up things I thought I’d buried. Percy was inspiring feelings in me that I hadn’t felt for years. I needed to get a handle on myself before my emotions could spiral out of control.

Silena’s voice suddenly broke through my thoughts.

Feel everything.

I almost scoffed. Easier said than done when those feelings make everything more complicated. 

These emotions were deciding to be felt at really inconvenient times. Like in the woods at camp when the hellhound was looming over me and Percy or on the bus, when I’d seen the Furies, and it had been like I was seven again, feeling all the same terrible emotions as if it were happening all over again. Or when Grover had dragged me away from the Arch and it was almost as if everything had slowed down and I was watching from above, hovering over my body with no control over it.

I never wanted to feel like that again. 

Silena was just going to have to deal with it.

With a determined mind and a clear goal, I went to sleep, resolute in waking up without the crushing weight of remembering the past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what did y'all think? This was kind of a filler chapter and it's shorter than others. But, it's got some cute Percy, Grover, Annabeth bonding and some Percabeth moments. We're getting closer to my fav chapter. YAY!
> 
> See you next Friday! :)


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annabeth Chase has only ever known Camp Half-Blood. That’s not exactly true, but that’s what it feels like. She wants a way out. And when Percy Jackson stumbles into her home, she knows that’s it. But, with rumors of an impeding war between the gods brewing and her own destiny written, Annabeth is in for more than a simple adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! I don't really have much to say, so we'll just jump right in!
> 
> Disclaimer: I am not Rick. (ALSO: this chapter contains minor coarse language).

WE MEET MY MOM’S (IM)MORTAL NEMESIS FOR BURGERS

The announcement over the intercom woke me up the next day. I was in the haze of being in between half-asleep and half-awake so I wasn’t really paying attention to what it was saying. But I vaguely heard it declaring the city we were in and the next stop.

“... three hour layover until we depart. Welcome to Denver, folks.”

I shot up in my seat and looked over at Percy and Grover who were still sleeping. “Percy,” I shook his shoulder and he mumbled something incoherent. “Come on, Perce. Wake up.”

His eyes snapped open and stared at me for a dazed second, a small smile flitted across his face before he seemed to remember where he was. “Huh—what?”

“We’re in Denver.”

“Oh,” he looked at me like he didn’t know what I wanted him to do with this information.

I rolled my eyes. “It’s time to get off. Wake up Grover while I go wash up. And then we can come up with a plan to get to LA.”

Percy groaned tiredly as he sat up, but nodded at me. “Cool.”

“I’ll be right back.”

In the bathroom, I decided with one look at myself in the mirror that something had to be done about my hair. It had been reduced to a big, frizzy pile of gold on my head. If I didn’t get it under control now, it would just get worse. Plus, it was just going to get in the way when we inevitably ran into another monster.

When I got back to our seats after fixing that whole situation, Grover was awake.

“This is new,” Percy tugged gently at my braid as I stood next to him.

I swatted his hand away. “We don’t know how many more monsters we’re gonna run into and I decided it was a good idea that my hair not suffer through countless battles.”

Percy chuckled lightly and shrugged. “Looks nice.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to determine if he was saying it mockingly.

“So, what’re we gonna do?” Grover asked. Percy and I looked at him.

“Let’s try to contact Chiron,” I determined. “I want to tell him about your talk with the river spirit.” I directed that last part at Percy.

“We can’t use phones,” he questioned, “right?” 

“I’m not talking about phones,” I answered. “We gotta find a water source.”

“Huh?”

“Just come on,” I waved the two of them off the train. “I’ll show you when we find one.”

The three of us walked around downtown for a good half an hour. We got weird looks from the other pedestrians as we passed them. I didn’t blame them. Percy still smelled like burnt metal and polluted water. Grover just always looked odd no matter what he did. And I knew exactly what I looked like: dirty and unkempt.

But, after much searching, I finally spotted an empty self-service car wash. It was perfect. Not many prying eyes to question us. And there was bound to be water. We made our way to the furthest one from the street.

“What exactly are we doing?” Percy looked around at us as Grover reached for the spray gun.

“It’s seventy-five cents,” he mumbled, turning to me. “I’ve only got two quarters left. Annabeth?”

“Don’t look at me,” I brought my hands up and shook my head. “The dining car wiped me out.”

Percy dug around his pocket and pulled out a quarter, passing it to Grover.

“Excellent,” Grover grinned. “We could do it with a spray bottle, of course, but the connection isn’t as good, and my arm gets tired of pumping.”

“What are you talking about?” Percy furrowed his eyebrows and I held back a laugh. I’d almost forgotten how clueless he was about demigod culture; it was cute.

“IM’ing,” Grocer answered while slotting in the change and dialing the knob to FINE MIST.

“Instant messaging?”

He wasn’t exactly wrong. “Iris-messaging,” I amended. “The rainbow goddess Iris carries messages for the gods. If you know how to ask, and she’s not too busy, she’ll do the same for half-bloods.”

“You summon the goddess with a spray gun?” 

“Unless you know an easier way to make a rainbow,” Grover pressed down on the nozzle and a shatter of colors exploded through the white mist. Rainbow.

I smiled at Percy’s perplexed expression. “Drachma, please.” I stuck out my hand for him to give it to me. When he’d handed it over, I raised it over my head. “O goddess, accept our offering.” I tossed it into the rainbow and it rippled through the colors with a gold shimmer. “Half-Blood Hill.”

The rainbow shifted and I caught a glimpse of the rolling strawberry fields and the crashing waves of the Long Island Sound before the vision focused on the man standing on the Big House Porch with his back facing us. I knew immediately who it was and blushed, inching behind Percy to hide.

“Luke!” Percy exclaimed, amazed.

The guy turned around, his face coming in view and I hid further. I hadn’t really thought about Luke since my dream and seeing him brought the memory back up, briefly. I felt a little guilty about forgetting, but I also had a lot going on. Now that he was in front of me, all I could do was think about how my hair probably looked terrible (even in the braid it was in) and my shirt was dirty. He’d seen me like that before obviously, but I didn’t want him to get worried about me or have my appearance trigger memories about our time on the streets. I knew how hard that was.

“Percy!” his solemn face turned happy and my heart felt lighter at the sight. “Is that Annabeth, too?” I resisted the urge to duck. “Thank the gods! Are you guys okay?”

“We’re fine,” I quickly blurted out. “We thought Chiron—I mean—“

“He’s down at the cabins,” Luke’s tone lost it’s joviality. “We're having some issues with the campers. Listen, is everything cool with you? Is Grover all right?”

“I’m right here!” Grover stepped to one side while holding the nozzle away, effectively placing himself in Luke’s sight. “What kinda issues?”

“Chiron had to—“

Luke was cut off by the 90s hip hop that was blasting from the car that had pulled into the stall next to us. I don’t know much about cars, but it was one of those old, convertible ones. The music was so loud though, that the ground beneath us was shaking.

“What’s that noise?” Luke yelled.

“I’ll take care of it!” I shouted back, gesturing for Grover to follow me. “Grover, come on!”

“What?” Grover looked at me confusedly. “But—“

“Give Percy the nozzle and come on!” I commanded once more. Even though I could handle my own pretty well, I wasn’t about to go into a car wash stall, alone, with a bunch of strangers. And Percy probably would benefit from talking to Luke more than Grover would.

Grover seemed to understand that I wasn’t playing around and handed Percy the nozzle, who gave him a sympathetic look. “Girls are harder to understand than the Oracle at Delphi,” he muttered as he followed me into the next stall over.

Inside, a guy—late teens, early twenties—was standing by the driver side, talking (how? I didn’t know because his music was literally louder than the Apollo kids at campfire) to his friends who were sitting inside the car. I didn’t know what they were trying to do because the top was down so they obviously weren’t going to be washing the car, but I wasn’t going to stick around long enough to find out. They just needed to turn that damn music down before my eardrums burst and Grover and I would be gone.

The guy looked up as I approached him. His eyes trailed over me and he raised his eyebrows (probably confused as to why I looked the way I looked and what I was doing walking towards him with a kid on crutches right behind me). 

“Yeah?” he asked.

I gestured to the radio in his car. “I don’t know if you have bad hearing or something, but I’m sure you will if you continue to listen to your music this loudly.”

“What?”

“That’s my way of politely telling you to turn your freaking music down.”

“Uhhh,” the guy shook his head, looked at his friends (who were all staring at me and Grover), and then smirked. It was right then that I knew this wouldn’t be a quick in-and-out situation. “No.”

I smiled sweetly and nodded, “Okay.” I then reached into his car and turned the volume knob down almost all the way. 

“What the hell?!”

“You said you wouldn’t turn it down so I did it for you.” I felt Grover slowly pulling my Yankee’s cap out of my back pocket and had to stop a smirk from growing across my face. 

“It’s my car! I can do whatever the hell I want with it!”

“And these are my eardrums! I prefer to keep them,” I crossed my arms, glaring up at the guy. 

“Listen, you little shit,” he leaned down and I raised an eyebrow. “I’m gonna—”

Before he could even think about the next words out of his mouth, I had punched him in the face.

“Goddamnit!” he reeled back and held his nose. All of his friends had their mouths wide open, clamoring to check on him. 

I looked over at Grover and nodded. He whipped on my cap and disappeared without the others noticing.

“Oh, you’re gonna pay for that!” the guy turned back and stalked towards me. “I’ll press charges against y—”

He was interrupted by the windshield wipers of his car going off. There was silence as he stared at them and then at his friends who were just as confused. I couldn’t stop the smirk this time.

“There’s something you should know about this place: it’s haunted.” As I said the words, Grover (who was invisible) turned the music off completely, lifted my hat off his head, and yelled “boo!” in the boy’s ear.

The guy jumped back, whipping around to face Grover, who’d taken on his fake legs and was now standing in all his goat boy glory. The man screamed and scrambled back into his car.

“That’s right!” Grover called after them as they sped off, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. “We’re the ghosts of this car wash and you better run!”

I laughed and high-fived him. “Did you see their faces? Priceless.”

“Mortals are so easy,” he nodded as we walked back towards Percy. 

I was still chuckling when I looked up to see Luke fading as the rainbow shimmered away and felt my smile go with it. The memory of the dream resurfaced, this time for good. At least he was okay, I assured myself, shaking the image of him being dragged into Tartarus out of my head. I turned my attention to Percy, who was looking pensively at the spot where Luke had disappeared. “What happened, Percy? What did Luke say?”

“Not much,” he shrugged, eyes flitting away from me and Grover. “Come on,” he started to walk past the two of us, “let’s find some dinner.”

Grover and I looked warily at each other. We’d both been around Percy long enough to know he didn’t like talking about stuff that scared him. His way of avoiding it was, surprisingly, really smart: distracting us. He’d directed our attention to our growling stomachs. And now that I’d noticed, there wasn’t anything else I could think about.

I’d been hungry before. The aching, painful, desperate kind of hunger. The hunger that felt like there was a hole where your stomach should be. The kind where you’d do anything for something. I didn’t like to think about that time. When I had prayed for my mother’s guidance and salvation between wretched sobs and dry tears. If it hadn’t been for Luke and Thalia stumbling across my hiding place, I’d have been dead within the next few days.

This hunger was nothing like that. 

But I still wanted food, if only to fight off the memories I’d promise to keep at bay just the night before. 

“Okay,” I nodded, letting Percy get away with his tactic.

Just across the street was a chrome diner. Everything about the place screamed nostalgia. For everyone else, the ‘60s. For me, all the nights Thalia and Luke could afford a decent meal. So much for burying those memories.

When the waitress finally came, she didn’t look friendly. “Well?” 

I opened my mouth, ready to unleash all my anger on this woman because I was hungry and tired and I didn’t want to think about Thalia or Luke anymore and this was a good way to ignore my feelings. 

“We, um,” Percy quickly blurted out, seemingly noticing my irritation, “want to order dinner.”

“You kids have money to pay for it?” she asked, skeptically waving a glance around the booth, eyeing our disheveled appearance.

I glared silently at her, almost shaking from unbridled rage. Everywhere we went, something had to happen. We couldn’t even sit in a stupid mortal diner without getting in trouble with the stupid mortal waitress. 

A loud rumble shook the booth I was sitting in and I snapped out of my thoughts, tensing and reaching for my knife under my belt as I checked out the window, expecting to see a twenty foot tall monster stomping towards the diner. Instead, I was met with the sight of a large motorcycle rolling up to the corner, parking right in front of the door. 

Well, that’s rude, I thought to myself, but what else should I expect from Ares?

The man sent me a smug look (like he was reading my thoughts) as he stepped into the small diner, ducking so as not to bang his obscenely large head against the door frame. He gave a casual wave to the other patrons in the diner as they stood in a hypnotized salute, motioning for them to sit back down. 

The realization that I was irrationally angry because of his presence crossed my mind and as soon as it did, the rage ebbed out of me like an exhale.

“You kids have money to pay for it?” the waitress repeated, forgetting the last few seconds.

“It’s on me,” Ares smirked down at me as he sat down, pushing me against the window with his giant body. 

I just smiled at him, surprised at my own polite gesture. It must have been my mother. Ares could kill me with one thought. He probably wanted to anyway, seeing as I was a child of Athena. But she was protecting me from him as well as his effect on mortals.

“Are you still here?” he sneered at the waitress, who was dazedly staring at him, before pointing at her and sending her away with a flick. He then turned to Percy, watching him for a second. “So you're old Seaweed's kid, huh?”

Percy clenched his hands in anger (Ares’s affect), glaring up at him. “What's it to you?”

I wanted to reach over and put a reassuring hand on his, to remind him of reality, that this anger he was experiencing wasn’t his fault. But, I settled for a sharp stare and a forewarning. “Percy, this is–”

Ares kept his gaze on Percy but addressed me, raising his hand to silence me and I knew in that moment that even if I wanted to talk, I wouldn’t be able to. “S’okay. I don't mind a little attitude. Long as you remember who's the boss. You know who I am, little cousin?” 

Instinctually, I knew the silencing spell would wear off after he left. I thanked my mother for leaving that tidbit of information in my mind. It helped me gain control over the panic that had risen when I’d felt myself go mute. 

Looking over at Grover, who also seemed to have the same predicament as me, but didn’t have a goddess mother who cared to tell him what was up, I shook my head slightly. He nodded back with the same subtleness. We both relaxed a little knowing that the other understood.

“You’re Clarisse's dad ,” Percy just realized. “Ares, god of war.”

“That's right, punk,” Ares smiled cruelly and took off his sunglasses. I couldn’t even feel horrified at his empty eye sockets filled with flames like I’d been when I’d seen them for the first time at the winter solstice. “I heard you broke Clarisse's spear." 

“She was asking for it.”

“Probably. That's cool. I don't fight my kids' fights, you know? What I'm here for-I heard you were in town. I got a little proposition for you.”

As Percy was about to respond, the waitress came back. Her tray was piled high with all kinds of greasy, oily food: burgers, onion rings, fries, the works. She set three large chocolate shakes down in front of us.

Ares tossed her a few drachmas, not caring to look at her.

She stared helplessly at them. “But, these aren’t…”

Ares picked at his nails with his knife (which was the size of my forearm). “Problem, sweetheart?”

She looked nervously around at us, before shaking her head and turning away. 

I’d been called all sorts of names, “sweetheart” being one of them. They always left a terrible taste in my mouth, like I’d eaten something rotten. Usually, I could kick those calling me said names in the shin and move on. But, today, I’d just have to settle for an almost unnatural calmness. 

“You can't do that,” Percy belligerently glared up into the fireballs that were Ares’s eyes. ”You can't just threaten people with a knife.”

Ares chuckled, continuing to file his nails away. “Are you kidding? I love this country. Best place since Sparta. Don't you carry a weapon, punk? You should. Dangerous world out there. Which brings me to my proposition. I need you to do me a favor.”

“What favor could I do for a god?”

“Something a god doesn't have time to do himself. It's nothing much. I left my shield at an abandoned water park here in town. I was going on a little ... date with my girlfriend. We were interrupted. I left my shield behind. I want you to fetch it for me.”

“Why don't you go back and get it yourself?”

The orange flames in his eyes flared. “Why don't I turn you into a prairie dog and run you over with my Harley? Because I don't feel like it. A god is giving you an opportunity to prove yourself, Percy Jackson. Will you prove yourself a coward?” He leaned against the table, leering over Percy. “Or maybe you only fight when there's a river to dive into, so your daddy can protect you.”

“We're not interested,” Percy didn’t show his fear. Good. “We've already got a quest.”

Ares grinned, but there was a forced glee about it. “I know all about your quest, punk. When that item was first stolen, Zeus sent his best out looking for it: Apollo, Athena, Artemis, and me, naturally. If I couldn't sniff out a weapon that powerful … Well, if I couldn't find it, you got no hope. Nevertheless, I'm trying to give you the benefit of the doubt. Your dad and I go way back. After all, I'm the one who told him my suspicions about old Corpse Breath.”

“You told him Hades stole the bolt?”

“Sure. Framing somebody to start a war. Oldest trick in the book. I recognized it immediately. In a way, you got me to thank for your little quest.”

I felt my mother’s irritation. Ares was the god of war, yes, but the brutal, gory side of it. My mother handled strategy and prowess. Whatever tricks Ares was talking about, he got from her book. Now, he was trying to pass it off as if he was the mastermind behind every war move. 

“Thanks,” Percy mumbled, almost rolling his eyes. 

“Hey, I'm a generous guy. Just do my little job, and I'll help you on your way. I'll arrange a ride west for you and your friends.” Ares squished me further into the window.

“We're doing fine on our own.” Percy crossed his arms, determined.

“Yeah, right. No money. No wheels. No clue what you're up against. Help me out, and maybe I'll tell you something you need to know. Something about your mom.”

I kept my reaction to a minimum. But, a swell of interest burst in my chest, pushing against my mother’s spell that suppressed my emotions. 

Percy’s head lifted ever so slightly. “My mom?”

Ares smirked evilly. “That got your attention. The water park is a mile west on Delancy. You can't miss it. Look for the Tunnel of Love ride.”

“What interrupted your date?” Percy raised an eyebrow mockingly. “Something scare you off?”

Ares chuckled heartily. “You're lucky you met me, punk, and not one of the other Olympians. They're not as forgiving of rudeness as I am. I'll meet you back here when you're done. Don't disappoint me.” He looked over at me and gave my braid a rough pull (I much preferred Percy’s teasing one to this threatening version) before vanishing. 

A weight lifted from my mind, letting in a flood of my emotions. My mother was gone. 

And so was Ares.

“Not good,” Grover hoarsely brayed, finding his voice. “Ares sought you out, Percy. This is not good.”

Percy glanced away. “It’s probably some kind of trick,” he muttered and I realized that he was thinking about his mom. “Forget Ares. Let’s just go.”

“We can’t,” I spoke up, glad to know that my mother was right (as always) and my voice was back. “Look, I hate Ares as much as anybody, but you don't ignore the gods unless you want serious bad fortune. He wasn't kidding about turning you into a rodent.”

Percy stared at the burger in front of him. “Why does he need us?”

“Maybe it’s a problem that requires brains,” I shrugged. “Ares has strength. That's all he has. Even strength has to bow to wisdom sometimes.”

“But this water park ... he acted almost scared. What would make a war god run away like that?” 

I looked at Grover hesitantly, who seemed to share my thoughts. “I'm afraid we'll have to find out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all enjoyed this installment of TCC:BO. I know it was one of my fav chapters to write. I just loved writing Annabeth's point of view in the diner and how she handled sitting RIGHT NEXT TO ARES!
> 
> Alright, y'all know the drill. See you next Friday! :)


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annabeth Chase has only ever known Camp Half-Blood. That’s not exactly true, but that’s what it feels like. She wants a way out. And when Percy Jackson stumbles into her home, she knows that’s it. But, with rumors of an impeding war between the gods brewing and her own destiny written, Annabeth is in for more than a simple adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, this chapter was a wild ride. I thoroughly enjoyed writing it and I hope you enjoy reading it.
> 
> Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan.

PERCY AND I GO ON A DATE

A golden glow blanketed over the city as we approached the abandoned water park. The sun fell behind one of the towering slides. Everything looked peaceful, untouched.

Creepy as Hades though.

The entrances were padlocked and the perimeter was surrounded by barbed wire. The ticket booth was dusty and old. Musty posters hung crookedly along the banister, advertising fun water slides and themed foods.

"If Ares brings his girlfriend here for a date," Percy started, looking up at the park. "I'd hate to see what she looks like."

I nervously glanced at the sky. "Percy. Be more respectful."

"Why?" he asked. "I thought you hated Ares."

"He's still a god," I almost yelled, stopping myself short because he didn't know any better. "And his girlfriend is very ... temperamental."

"You don't wanna insult her looks," Grover nodded.

"Who is she? Echnida?" Percy smiled at his own joke, his green eyes flashing amusedly.

I looked down to hide my own smile.

"No," Grover shook his head, a dopey look coming across his face. "Aphrodite. Goddess of love."

"I thought she was married to somebody," Percy voiced, looking over at Grover. "Hephaestus."

"What's your point?" Grover shrugged.

"Oh," Percy blushed, his smile disappearing. "So," he cleared his throat, "how do we get in?"

"Maia!" Grover said in response, his shoes sprouting their feathery wings and lifting off the pavement, carrying him over the barbed wire gate. He tucked his legs up to avoid hitting the fence and rolled in midair, hitting the ground running. There was a small grin on his face when he looked back at us. "You guys coming?"

"Not all of us have the gift of flight, G-man," Percy called, grabbing a hold of the fence. When we reached the top, Percy held the barbed wire down for me as I climbed over and I returned the favor.

We jumped down together and walked over to where Grover was waiting for us.

"So, what're we looking for?" he asked, looking around at the shadowy building and the dark, towering rides.

"I think we'll know when we see it," Percy suggested, looking at me in question.

I shrugged. "Well, we'll never find it if we stand around here. Come on, let's go."

The three of us made our way through the park, hovering close together and glancing over our shoulders every few seconds to check for monsters.

The air was thick from humidity and it made everything feel sticky. I was wiping sweat from off my brow when I noticed a souvenir shop with it's doors still open.

"Clothes," I said blissfully. "Fresh clothes." I could almost feel the coolness of a new shirt against my skin.

"Yeah," Percy put a hand on my arm. "But you can't just—"

"Watch me," I stalked into the store and grabbed an armful of clothes before finding the changing rooms.

There were a pair of surf shoes in the corner and a Waterland backpack hanging from one of the hooks. I dumped the clothes in my arms on the bench against the wall and peeled off my dirty clothes.

I pulled on the first shirt in the pile. It definitely wasn't my size because it looked more like a dress on me, but the relief of clean clothes was too much for me to want to take it off and search for another one. I found a pair of green shorts with red flowers all over it and shimmied into them. After I'd strapped the shoes on, I stuffed all the other clothes in the backpack and swung it over my shoulder before marching out.

Percy and Grover checked over my appearance.

"What the heck," Grover grumbled and went over to the rows of clothes to find something.

I raised an eyebrow at Percy who was still staring at me skeptically.

He finally relented after a moment and joined Grover in perusing the store's collection.

My eyes wandered over the store before landing on the shelves stocked with sunblock and water bottles.

Girl, you gotta take better care of yourself, Silena's voice chastised me in my mind.

I snatched up a couple bottles from the shelves and threw them into my backpack as Grover and Percy disappeared into the changing room.

In a few minutes, the two of them looked like they'd walked out of a commercial for Waterland. Percy in a blue shirt with the park's logo printed across it and sandy shorts with a palm tree snaking up the side and Grover in a bright yellow shirt that oddly complimented his rasta cap.

"Better right?" I asked Percy smugly.

"Let's just find this Tunnel of Love thing," he responded with a smile.

The sun had completely dipped behind the mountains by then. There was an eerie silence that closed around us like a chokehold. We stayed close together as dark creeped over the park. Something about being in an abandoned water park at night felt fundamentally wrong. Water parks were supposed to be sunny and warm and full of fun, laughter, and families.

"So, Ares and Aphrodite," Percy suddenly spoke up, "they have a thing going?"

"That's old gossip," I waved dismissively, secretly glad, though, that he'd broken the silence. "Three-thousand-year-old gossip."

"What about Aphrodite's husband?"

"Well, you know," I started. "Hephaestus. The blacksmith. He was crippled when he was a baby, thrown off Mount Olympus by Zeus." I looked away. Hephaestus's story always struck a chord with me. He'd been abandoned by the very beings that should've cared for him like I had been. I cleared my throat. "So he isn't exactly handsome. Clever with his hands, and all, but Aphrodite isn't into brains and talent, you know?"

"She likes bikers," Percy shrugged, smirking a little.

"Whatever," I dismissed. It wasn't any secret that Aphrodite wasn't faithful to Hephaestus. Honestly, it was really the least of anyone's concerns. The gods would always do what they did. Maybe for mortals it was worse, but immortal beings weren't restricted by moral obligations as we were. Probably because they had an eternity to right their wrongs (if they felt so inclined).

"Hephaestus knows?" Percy asked.

"Oh sure," I answered. "He caught them together once. I mean, literally caught them, in a golden net, and invited all the gods to come and laugh at them. Hephaestus is always trying to embarrass them. That's why they meet in out-of-the-way places, like …" I trailed off, catching a glimpse of a large bowl shaped concave in the ground: an empty pool. "Like that."

Cupid statues were lined up along the rim of it, bows ready to fire. A tunnel opened up opposite us; a sign above it read, THRILL RIDE O' LOVE: THIS IS NOT YOUR PARENTS' TUNNEL OF LOVE!

"Guys, look," Grover peered over the edge of the rim. He pointed out a small pink and white boat topped with a pretty, white canopy abandoned at the bottom of the pool. Ares's shield glinted in one of the seats.

"This is too easy," Percy voiced his skepticism. "So we just walk down there and get it?"

I looked over a Cupid statue, running my fingers over the base and feeling the marking of an engraving. Upon closer inspection, I realized what it was. "There's a Greek letter carved here. Eta. I wonder …"

"Grover," Percy said after a beat, "you smell any monsters?"

Grover closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, nose high in the air. "Nothing," he opened his eyes and shook his head.

Percy stared at him in question. "Nothing like, in-the-Arch-and-you-didn't-smell-Echidna nothing, or really nothing?"

"I told you, that was underground," Grover defended himself, crossing his arms and looking away woundedly.

I glared at Percy.

"Okay, I'm sorry," he amended. Taking a deep breath, he continued, "I'm going down there."

"I'll go with you," Grover quiveringly spoke, eager to make up for St. Louis.

"No," Percy put his hand out, understanding Grover's intentions. "I want you to stay up top with the flying shoes. You're the Red Baron, a flying ace, remember? I'll be counting on you for backup, in case something goes wrong."

Grover proudly stuck out his chest. "Sure. But what could go wrong?"

"I don't know. Just a feeling," Percy glanced around before his eyes landed on me. "Annabeth, come with me–"

I flushed. "Are you kidding?!" I backed away slightly.

"What's the problem now?" Percy groaned, glaring at me.

My cheeks felt like they were on fire now. "Me, go with you to the ... the 'Thrill Ride of Love'? How embarrassing is that? What if somebody saw me?" I crossed my arms defensively.

"Who's going to see you?" Percy demanded to know, but his face was growing pinker. "Fine," he turned away after staring at me for a moment. "I'll do it myself."

I watched him walk down the side of the pool for a second before staring at the sky in exasperation and catching up with him. "Boys mess everything up," I muttered under my breath.

"Guess we know why Ares and Aphrodite wanted to meet at this dump," Percy said and I glanced at him. He was looking at the mirrors lined up all around the pool. "While they were busy smooching each other, they could look at their favorite people: themselves."

"Percy!" I pushed him slightly as he chuckled. "How many times do I have to tell you? Respect the gods."

"Yeah, yeah," he waved me off as he picked up Aphrodite's scarf. The fabric rippled gracefully in his hands and the pink shimmer glowed unnaturally in the dark. Percy brought it up to his face, almost nuzzling it into his cheek.

"Oh, no you don't," I snatched the scarf out of his hands and pushed it into my back pocket before it could affect me. "Stay away from that love magic."

"What?" he snapped out of whatever love fugue he'd been in.

I groaned. "Just get the shield, Seaweed Brain, and let's get out of here." While he went to the other side of the boat to retrieve the shield, I waited. My eyes trailed over the little hearts painted perfectly onto the lacy fabric of the canopy and moved down towards the wooden sides of the boat. "Wait!" I called, my eyes catching another engraving on the boat.

"Too late."

I whipped around, a cold dread filling my mouth when I saw Percy hand on the shield. "There's another Greek letter on the side of the boat, another Eta. This is a trap!"

A mechanical whir hummed around us.

"Guys!" Grover yelled down from where he stood.

We looked up just in time to see the Cupid statues fire their bows at each other. Silky, gold cords flew taut above us, tied to the arrow tails, and moored into the pool rim, creating a huge star-shaped covering over it. Smaller threads wove in between the cables, creating a fine net.

"We have to get out!" Percy shouted.

"Duh!" I emphasized.

"Go!" Percy exclaimed as he grabbed up the shield.

I ran as fast as I could, but going up the slope of a giant pool wasn't easy.

"Come on!" Grover brayed panickedly, trying to keep a portion of the net open for us. The metallic threads were snaking around his hands wherever he touched it though.

Blinding white lights shown down on us suddenly, stopping us in our tracks. I heard a flurry of spurring around us and realized that a dozen video cameras were now trained on us, having risen up from the Cupid statues. "Live to Olympus in one minute ... Fifty- nine seconds, fifty-eight …"

"Hephaestus!" I understood suddenly. "I'm so stupid. Eta is H. He made this trap to catch his wife with Ares. Now we're going to be broadcast live to Olympus and look like absolute fools!"

We had almost gotten to Grover when the mirrors popped open and released millions of tiny, metal things that scuttled with their spiny legs.

I knew what they were before they even crawled over the rim. "Spiders!" I screamed, a terror gripping my throat. Cold sweat broke out over me and my heart simultaneously felt like it had sped up and stopped. I didn't notice how I'd fallen backwards until Percy caught me in his arms and started pulling me back towards the boat.

The spiders swarmed around us as we scrambled into the boat. Percy was screaming at me, his hands on my shoulders. I could see him, his mouth moving to say something, but I couldn't hear anything he was saying. His grip on me seemed distant even though it would have been the only thing I could've thought about if I hadn't so paralyzed.

I could feel the spiders weaving metal threads around us, tying us down. My hands found Percy's torso and I held tight to him. Tears were pricking behind my eyes and I didn't care to keep them from falling. I gasped in breaths and pressed my face against Percy's back, squeezing my eyes shut.

I felt Percy's voice reverberate through him as he shouted at Grover.

The clacking of the spiders' metal legs hitting the boat's side scraped my ears and I yelped when I felt the strands of their webs cocooning us in tighter.

The countdown was still going but I could only barely hear it winding down to zero.

Percy went still.

Then, an explosion of water burst out all around us. I heard it crash into the pool and sweep the spiders away from our boat.

Percy's arms were around me, propping me up in the seat next to him and strapping my seatbelt on.

I watched in fascination as the water swirled around us, creating a small whirlpool and keeping us away from the concrete walls. The boat rose with the tide and I raised my head to see the metal net fast approaching, threatening to shred us.

Percy and I ducked our heads and held to each other just as the water led us into the tunnel.

The boat plunged into darkness and we screamed as it took a sharp drop, grabbing onto each other tighter. I kept my eyes screwed shut, shrieking everytime I felt the boat turn a corner and squeezing Percy closer to me.

The wind changed suddenly, blowing against my face instead of whistling past me. I cracked my eyes open to see that the ride had finally spit us out into the night.

"Unfasten your seatbelt!" Percy shouted into my ear.

My attention snapped to him. "Are you crazy?!"

"Unless you want to get smashed to death," he nodded towards the chained gates the boat was hurtling towards as he strapped Ares's shield to his arm. "We're going to have to jump for it."

I understood what he wanted to do: use the momentum of the crash to propel us over the gates and into the pool behind it. Quickly, I unbuckled myself and grabbed a hold of his hand tightly.

"On my mark," he looked over at me with a grim nod.

"No!" I panicked. "On my mark!"

"What?"

"Simple physics!" I started to explain as quickly as I could. "Force times the trajectory angle–"

"Fine!" Percy agreed hurriedly. "On your mark!"

I waited until the boat had almost reached the gate. "Now!"

We leaped up, the boat crashing into the gate just as we did, throwing us up and over the gates.

I realized that I had given us too much lift as we flew over the pool and straight towards the asphalt behind it.

I ducked my head into Percy's neck and shut my eyes.

Then, something snagged my arm up, almost pooping it out of my shoulder.

"Ouch!" I yelled and looked up to see Grover straining to pull me and Percy up.

"You're too heavy! We're going down!"

The momentum was too much for him though and the three of us started into a fast descent. We crashed into a photo board a second later, Grover's head going through one of the holes and Percy and I tumbling away.

I pushed myself against Percy and felt his arms pull me closer, one of his hands cradling my head as we hit the ground and rolled a few times.

After a moment of stillness, I opened my eyes tentatively and was met with Percy's green ones peering down at me. We were both breathing heavily from the prospect of almost dying.

"Are you okay?" he murmured and I nodded numbly. He let out a breath before making to stand up, bringing his arms out from under me.

Percy extended a hand to me when he'd gotten up and picked up Ares's shield from the ground.

He'd used the shield to protect me from taking the brunt of the fall, I realized.

"Thanks," I exhaled, feeling our fingers linger together for a moment before turning my attention to Grover.

"How are you doing, dude?" Percy asked as we pulled Grover up.

"Dizzy," Grover shook his head dazedly.

I tackled him in a hug and we stumbled back.

He chuckled slightly.

"Thank you for saving us," I whispered in his ear.

"Yeah, thanks, G-man," Percy agreed and I felt him join in.

The three of us stood there for a moment just content in being alive and together.

"Hey, give me a minute," Percy said to us and we nodded as he walked back towards the pool.

"You're okay, right?" Grover asked me, checking to see if I had any injuries.

"Yeah," I nodded. "Thanks to you."

"That's what I'm here for," he smiled down at me warmly.

"Show's over!" the two of us turned to see Percy yelling at the cameras pointed at us. "Thank you! Good night!"

"He's never going to learn, is he?" I muttered to Grover who shook his head, but we both had smiles on our faces.

Percy marched back to us, his mouth cemented in a hard line as he set the shield back on his arm. "We need to have a little talk with Ares."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BABY PERCABETH! Gah, they're so cute. And I always love writing Grover and Annabeth's friendship because they are so underrated and I love them.
> 
> Alright, on to more pressing matters. Um, so, this is the last chapter that I have written. Meaning that from this point on, updates on this story might not be weekly. I'm going to try and write a chapter every week and keep my current schedule, but I don't know.
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr (twinsarekeepers) if you want updates about my writing with this story. This is not a plug, I promise. You guys will be able to ask me questions about this fic and any other fics I have planned out and we'll be able to communicate better.
> 
> That's all for this week. Thanks for reading.
> 
> See you ... next time! :)


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annabeth Chase has only ever known Camp Half-Blood. That’s not exactly true, but that’s what it feels like. She wants a way out. And when Percy Jackson stumbles into her home, she knows that’s it. But, with rumors of an impeding war between the gods brewing and her own destiny written, Annabeth is in for more than a simple adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...hi? Hehe, so it's been ... a while since my last update. Sorry about that. I know I said I'd try and stick to a schedule, but I think we can safely conclude that plan has long been thrown out. Fair warning, these updates are gonna be a whole lot more inconsistent than they've been in the past. BUT, I do plan on finishing this story. It may take a few more months, but I will do it.
> 
> Okay, without further delay, chapter 16.
> 
> Disclaimer: Do I even have to say it at this point? I AM NOT RICK!

I'M NOT GOOD AT HEART-TO-HEARTS, AM I?

Ares was leaning against his bike when we finally reached the diner again, arms crossed and a smirk plastered across his brutish face. "Well, well. You didn't get yourself killed," he looked at me directly as he said it and I tensed, feeling the same sensation of muteness and unfeeling settling over me.

When I looked over at Grover and didn't see him staring back, I knew I was alone this time.

"You knew it was a trap!" Percy made to march over to the war god, but Grover discreetly caught his arm and stopped him.

"Bet that crippled blacksmith was surprised when he netted a couple of stupid kids," Ares grinned largely. "You looked good on TV," he gave me and Percy a wink.

"You're a jerk," Percy scoffed and threw the shield toward him.

My breath snagged in my chest and Grover's grip on Percy's arm tightened.

Ares didn't turn Percy into a pile of ash in front of us though. Instead, he transformed his shield into a vest and hung it over his shoulders with a light chuckle. "See that truck over there?" He nodded towards a semi trailer across the street. "That's your ride. Take you straight to L.A., with one stop in Vegas."

"You're kidding," Percy glared up at Ares.

"Free ride west, punk," Ares opened the latch with a snap. "Stop complaining. And here's a little something for doing the job." He tossed a blue backpack to Percy.

Percy opened it to inspect the contents before looking back at Ares. "I don't want your lousy–"

"Thank you, Lord Ares," Grover jumped in and gave Percy a look of warning with his eyes: another insult and there was a chance that we wouldn't need that ride to the Underworld. "Thanks a lot."

Percy clenched his jaw, but swung the backpack onto his shoulders anyway.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the waitress that had served us and the cook in the diner window discussing something before the cook shot a photo of the four of us standing in the parking lot.

Crap.

"You owe me one more thing," Percy started, sending Ares a hard stare. "You promised me information about my mother."

"You sure you can handle the news?" Ares mounted his bike and revved it up. "She's not dead."

I glanced over at Percy. He had paled considerably and his eyes were wide. Grover squeezed his arm harder.

"What do you mean?" Percy breathed, gaining his balance again.

"I mean she was taken away from the Minotaur before she could die. She was turned into a shower of gold, right? That's metamorphosis. Not death. She's being kept."

I thought back to when Percy had told me about his dreams. We thought that Hades would have given Sally back, brought her back to life, in return for something, presumably Percy's alliance. But, if she wasn't already dead, just being kept prisoner, then that meant she'd be killed if Percy didn't give Hades what he wanted.

"Kept? Why?"

"You need to study war, punk. Hostages. You take somebody to control somebody else."

Ares had just confirmed my fears.

"Nobody's controlling me," Percy denied, shaking his head.

"Oh, yeah?" Ares laughed. "See you around, kid."

Percy almost snatched his arm out of Grover's hand. "You're pretty smug, Lord Ares, for a guy who runs from Cupid statues."

The flames behind Ares's glasses gassed up. "We'll meet again, Percy Jackson. Next time you're in a fight, watch your back." He gave his Harley another rev before riding off down the street.

The spell lifted off of me when his motorcycle had disappeared. "That was not smart, Percy," I chastised.

"I don't care," he snapped.

"You don't want a god as your enemy. Especially not that god," I warned, the terror of being unable to talk still haunting me.

"Hey, guys," Grover spoke. "I hate to interrupt, but …" He gestured to two men wearing black overalls with a logo that matched the truck's printed on them paying at the register of the diner. "If we're taking the zoo express, we need to hurry."

I looked to Percy. It was his quest after all. Whatever he said, went.

"Okay," he nodded reluctantly and the three of us sprinted across the street.

The smell of dirty fur and soiled cotton as well as a blast of heat hit me in the face as we pried open the trailer doors.

Percy uncapped Riptide and the golden glow from it illuminated the small shipping container.

There were three cages (smaller than could be comfortable for the animals that they imprisoned) pushed against the walls. A zebra, a lion, and an antelope were slumped in each of them, sad trays of food that weren't appropriate to feed these types of animals in front of them. The antelope had a deflated balloon tied to one of its horns. Gum matted the zebra's mane and the lion paced as far as he could within his confinement.

"This is kindness?! Humane zoo trans-port?!" Grover exclaimed, bringing the words KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL: HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT printed on the truck to shame.

Percy and Grover were about to jump back out of the trailer and beat down the truckers, but the floor beneath us shook and we fell back against the walls.

"Ah," I hissed, rubbing the back of my head and sitting up as we started moving. Percy moaned in pain next to me and I crawled over to him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he grumbled as I helped him lean against the wall. "How're you doing, Grover?" he called across the trailer.

"I'm fine," Grover answered clippedly.

Percy and I exchanged glances. It wasn't in Grover's nature to be short and angry, but it was understandable considering the circumstances.

"What do we do?" Percy murmured to me as we watched Grover try to coax answers from the animals with a series of goat bleats.

"We could free them," I suggested.

"Won't do much good until the truck stops moving," Percy pointed out. "Plus, we don't want that lion out of it's cage until we're safe."

"I know," I sighed. "But, we could make it better for them."

We explained our plan to Grover who reiterated it to the animals and then got to work. While Percy swapped the food with his sword and refilled the water bowls, I crouched by the antelope. Grover muttered reassuring goat bleats to it while I cut the balloon off its horn.

I noticed the zebra watching forlornly and turned to Percy and Grover. "I want to cut the gum out of his mane, but that'd be too close to his neck."

"It'd be too risky. Better safe than sorry," Percy said and Grover nodded, agreeing.

Grover then told the animals that we'd help them more in the morning before we settled back into a corner.

Once Grover had snuggled up to a bag of turnips and Percy and I were comfortably leaning against each other, I looked through the Ares backpack and found an Oreo packet that I promptly ripped open.

"Hey," I started after nibbling on one for a time, "I'm sorry for freaking out back at the water park, Percy." I kept my eyes averted.

"That's okay," his hand pressed my arm comfortingly.

"It's just," I shivered despite the heat, "spiders."

"Because of the Arachne story," Percy realized. "She got turned into a spider for challenging your mom to a weaving contest, right?"

That was the tame version of the story and it still wasn't good. My mom didn't like being beaten, and when she was, there were dire consequences. "Arachne's children have been taking revenge on the children of Athena ever since. If there's a spider within a mile of me, it'll find me.I hate the creepy little things. " My nails dug into my palm as a memory of them scuttling over my bed flashed across my vision and I closed my eyes to shake it off. After a moment, I exhaled, "Anyway, I owe you."

"We're a team, remember?" Percy's hand traveled down to mine and I looked at him. His eyes bore into mine intensely and I felt a blush burn across my face. We both turned away from each other after a long second and he pulled his hand away, clearing his throat. "Besides, Grover did the fancy flying."

"I was pretty amazing, wasn't I?" Grover piped up from the corner.

Percy and I chuckled lightly.

I directed my attention back to the cookie in my hand and broke it in half, handing it over to Percy while I contemplated asking him what I'd wanted to before Ares had sent us on his little side quest. "In the Iris message ... did Luke really say nothing?"

Percy bit in the Oreo before answering. "Luke said you and he go way back. He also said Grover wouldn't fail this time. Nobody would turn into a pine tree."

My breath caught and I shared a sad look with Grover.

"I should've told you the truth from the beginning," Grover brayed guiltily. "I thought if you knew what a failure I was, you wouldn't want me along."

"You were the satyr who tried to rescue Thalia, the daughter of Zeus," Percy voiced. "And the other two half-bloods Thalia befriended, the ones who got safely to camp," he turned to me, "that was you and Luke, wasn't it?"

I felt my lip quiver and tossed my Oreo back into the bag. "Like you said, Percy, a seven-year-old half-blood wouldn't have made it very far alone. Athena guided me toward help. Thalia was twelve. Luke was fourteen. They'd both run away from home, like me. They were happy to take me with them. They were ... amazing monster fighters, even without training. We traveled north from Virginia without any real plans, fending off monsters for about two weeks before Grover found us." My voice wavered and I couldn't go on.

"I was supposed to escort Thalia to camp," Grover spoke after that, noticing my inability to continue. "Only Thalia. I had strict orders from Chiron: don't do anything that would slow down the rescue. We knew Hades was after her, see, but I couldn't just leave Luke and Annabeth by themselves. I thought ... I thought I could lead all three of them to safety. It was my fault the Kindly Ones caught up with us. I froze. I got scared on the way back to camp and took some wrong turns. If I'd just been a little quicker …"

"Stop it," I chastised, finding my voice again and reaching out to put my hand over Grover's. "No one blames you. Thalia didn't blame you either."

"She sacrificed herself to save us," Grover reminded me. "Her death was my fault. The Council of Cloven Elders said so."

"Because you wouldn't leave two other half-bloods behind?" Percy asked incredulously. "That's not fair."

"Percy's right," I squeezed Grover's hand, trying to show him the extent of his effect on my life. "I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for you, Grover. Neither would Luke. We don't care what the council says."

"It's just my luck," Grover sniffled. "I'm the lamest satyr ever, and I find the two most powerful half-bloods of the century, Thalia and Percy."

"You're not lame!" I said with conviction. "You've got more courage than any satyr I've ever met! Name one other who would dare go to the Underworld. I bet Percy is really glad you're here right now." I kicked Percy's shin.

"Yeah," Percy glared at me. "It's not luck that you found Thalia and me, Grover. You've got the biggest heart of any satyr ever. You're a natural searcher. That's why you'll be the one who finds Pan."

I smiled a little and nodded to Percy.

The two of us waited for a response from the satyr but instead were met with his soft snores.

"How does he do that?" Percy laughed quietly, looking at me.

"I don't know," I chuckled. "But," I sobered slightly, "that was really a nice thing you told him."

"I meant it," he said seriously.

We traveled in comfortable silence for a while. It gave me a moment to think back to my first year at camp. My anger towards everyone felt eternal. Grover had been too slow to bring us to safety. Luke hadn't stayed back to help fight beside her or allowed me to. Chiron was infuriatingly patient when all I wanted was a fight. And Thalia. Thalia bore the brunt of my anger. She'd promised to be by my side, to be my family. Then, she went and died. Everything at camp was so cheerful and bright and I couldn't fathom how the world could spin when my world had caved in on itself. It felt unfair.

Accepting her death was the hardest thing I ever had to do. The grief had been so big that any other emotion felt too miniscule to feel. But, those small moments of happiness and joy like Luke's hand in mine as he led me through camp for the first time after I'd been released from the infirmary or Chiron's warm eyes proudly shining down at me or Grover trying to make me smile or Silena wiping chocolate off my face after we'd eaten a whole box of bonbons from her dad's bakery rolled together and mixed in with all of the sadness and anger to help me move on.

"That pine-tree bead," Percy's voice brought me out of my thoughts. "Is that from your first year?"

I glanced to where he was looking. I had been rubbing Thalia's bead. "Yeah," I brought my hand down. "Every August, the counselors pick the most important event of the summer, and they paint it on that year's beads. I've got Thalia's pine tree, a Greek trireme on fire, a centaur in a prom dress-now that was a weird summer..." I smiled fondly at the memory.

"And the college ring is your father's?" Percy probed.

"That's none of your–" I took a deep breath to calm myself. "Yeah. Yeah, it is."

"You don't have to tell me," he turned away.

"No," I grabbed his hand and he looked at me, surprised, "it's okay." Taking another breath, I continued, pulling my hand away. "My dad sent it to me folded up in a letter, two summers ago. The ring was, like, his main keepsake from Athena. He wouldn't have gotten through his doctoral program at Harvard without her... That's a long story. Anyway, he said he wanted me to have it. He apologized for being a jerk, said he loved me and missed me. He wanted me to come home and live with him."

"That doesn't sound so bad," Percy intently searched my face.

"Yeah, well," I glared at the wall in front of me, "the problem was, I believed him. I tried to go home for that school year, but my stepmom was the same as ever. She didn't want her kids put in danger by living with a freak," I blinked back tears at the biting memory of the word being thrown in my face. "Monsters attacked. We argued. Monsters attacked. We argued. I didn't even make it through winter break. I called Chiron and came right back to Camp Half-Blood."

"You think you'll ever try living with your dad again?"

My eyes darted away from his comforting gaze. "Please. I'm not into self-inflicted pain."

"You shouldn't give up, " Percy determinedly concluded. "You should write him a letter or something."

"Thanks for the advice," I let my voice carry the contempt I felt for it, "but my father's made his choice about who he wants to live with."

I crossed my arms and settled back grumpily. Percy didn't get it. His mom loved him unconditionally. She wanted him even though he was demigod. She didn't see a basket case when she looked at him; she saw her son. He would never understand what it felt like to have the one person who was supposed to always protect you knowingly let someone hurt you.

And I never wanted him to feel like that. I was glad that he had a mother that cherished him so much more fiercely than my father had me. He'd never be hurt like I was and I never wanted him to be.

My heart hammered in my ribcage. Caring about Percy like this was only going to bring me pain. He was a child of one of the Big Three, already guaranteeing him a hard life, harder than the rest of ours. And if that wasn't enough, he was the hero of the Great Prophecy, foretold to die when he reached the age of sixteen. There was only one way this would end and I knew it. And still, I couldn't stop myself from befriending him. I couldn't stop my feelings.

"So if the gods fight," Percy began, startling me from my revelation, "will things line up the way they did with the Trojan War? Will it be Athena versus Poseidon?"

I couldn't deal with talking to him right then. There were a lot of thoughts and emotions whirling around in me and I was already tired from the day we'd had. Too many things were happening too fast and Percy asking me deep, probing questions about the gods' dynamics and how that affected our relationship wasn't something I was up for. So, I laid Ares's backpack down and leaned my head against it, closing my eyes. "I don't know what my mom will do. I just know I'll fight next to you."

"Why?" he asked.

"Because you're my friend, Seaweed Brain," I sighed, curling up into a more comfortable position. "Any more stupid questions?"

There was a still silence from Percy that confirmed his shock about my statement.

I drifted off to sleep with a smile on my face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyyyyyyy. This was one of my favorite chapters to write and I know I said that about the last chapter but they both had things I loved. This one was a lot less action and a lot more introspective analysis. I love writing Annabeth's struggle with feelings and how she handles them. She reacts so badly to ANY emotional situation and it makes sense, given her past and all the crap she's had to deal with. I feel like Annabeth is very different from your traditional female love interest (and I'm overjoyed to see writers moving away from the "perfect girl" trope now). She actually has very deep rooted issues and flaws as a person and I really enjoy exploring them.
> 
> Okay, after that long spiel of writer's analysis, I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter.
> 
> See you guys... some time in the future! :)

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, chapter 1, complete! I'm gonna be uploading every Friday (hopefully for the sntire course of this story but definitely for the next ten weeks because that's how many chapters I have written). Leave a comment (be nice! I have feelings ... don't stomp on them!) and stay safe y'all!
> 
> See you next Friday! :)


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